Barrio Santa Anna

Barrio Santa Anna is four blocks above my house. It is an artesinia community. I read about it in a travel book. The book talked about taking a bus from the corner, but when I asked my host family Rosa said Ït is just right up there, past the park¨as she pointed. So on Saturday I thought I would check it out, especially becasue I could walk. Barrio Santa Anna is built around a large main square with a cathedral in the middle. Their appeared to be a wedding going on. I noticed that a lot of the shops an stores were closed. I did see two open doors though, so that is where I went. The people were quite friendly and invited me in to look at their work and were glad to tell me about it, show me their workshops. I think they were hoping I would buy something too. I explained that I would be here a while, so maybe I could come back. First, was the workshop of Alfonzo Sulca. His daughter Fabiola showed me around. Alfonzo was honored as a major craftsman on the national level. His work is quite good. Fabiola said her father carries a notebook and when an image comes to him he puts it in the notebook, and he makes it into a woven design, but only once so that all of his work is unique. She also said that the price of the item depends on the time involved in making it, the size, and the type of wool used. Alpaca being more expensive than sheep´s wool. Alfonzo and his brother Gregorio who´s shop is next door work in textiles or weaving, like their father before them.

They use alpaca and sheeps wool, that is dyed using flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

The other workshop I visited was Rocio and her husbands on the corner. They work in what is known piedra Huamanga or Alabaster. They are sculptors of everything from intricate ornaments and earrings to large nativity scenes. They also make scultptures of the Virgen Andina, which is the Virgen Mary as seen through the eyes of the Andean or indigenous people here. She wears the Andean hat and clothes, and carries a spool of Alapaca yarn in her hands.