VOA文化艺术2023--Stone Carvers Carry on Tradition in Mexico

Stone Carvers Carry on Tradition in Mexico

On most Sundays, the sound of hammers and other tools hitting stone can be heard in the burial area of ancient Xochiaca. It is a village in the Chimalhuacan area, on Mexico City's east side.

The sounds come from stone carvers who still work on a craft that has been passed down for generations - even after the local source of stone was used up.

The village burial area, or cemetery¹, is filled with meter-high statues of religious figures and other beautiful stone objects.

Generations of stone carvers in Chimalhuacan also created much of the stonework found on buildings and parks in the capital's downtown.

While carvers in other areas long ago turned to mechanical devices, the workers here use only hammers and other special hand tools.

Many are self-taught, but some, like Tomás Ugarte, age 86, learned in the traditional way. This method of rock cutting has been passed down between family members, dating back about five generations.

The rock cutters are generally older. There were about 600 official stone carvers about 10 years ago. Now, there are probably only around 300, said Carolina Montesinos Mendoza of the state office that supports traditional skills. The carvers are dying and their children generally do not want to take up the trade.

Still, the stone carvers keep the old traditions alive. Many people in the area use stone mortars³ and pestles⁵ made by the stone carvers. Known as "molcajetes" in Spanish, these bowl-like objects are the basic tool for making salsas.

Rev⁶. Alberto Sandoval, who has known the stone workers since 1990, described them as "the backbone⁷ of the community."

Most of the carvers have individual work areas at home, which provide them with some money. They sell carvings⁸ for prices ranging from $500 to $2,000. But the stone carvers often do not sell much.

Unlike many craftspeople who want to see their works shown in museums, the carvers here work free of charge to create and maintain carvings for the local cemetery.

They also work for free at decorating and repairing the stonework at the 250-year-old local church, Santa María de Guadalupe.

One of the earliest signs of the stone carvers' work is a carved stone on the ground reading "Xochiaca, home of the stone carvers." It does not have a date.

The writing talks about a time when the lake that once covered much of the valley still touched Xochiaca. Builders would come looking for carvings and ship them to Mexico City on ships over the lake.

Juan Alfaro Bastidas, 75, is a carver, just as his father and grandfather were. He remembers going into the rock mines, or quarries⁹, by candlelight to get blocks of stone.

But the quarries are just a memory now.

The land where the quarries stood was sold for housing developments.

Now, the carvers truck in stone from other states to the north and to the west, but sometimes from as far away as the southern state of Yucatan.

They get some help from the local government and local people.

"The neighbors have helped us out with donations of 100 or 200 pesos ($6 to $12). The people of the town buy the stone," said Bastidas.

Asked if the trade will survive, carver Mario Olivares read a poem written on the church wall: "Your art, your tradition, your culture and the nobility of the people keep the soul of this town alive."

Words in This Story

carve – v. to make a sculpture or design by cutting off pieces of the material it is made of

craft -- n. : an activity that involves making something in a skillful way by using your hands

mortar²– n. a heavy, deep bowl in which seeds, spices, etc., are pounded or crushed with a heavy tool (called a pestle⁴)

pestle – n. the heavy tool that goes with a mortar

museum – n. a building in which interesting and valuable things are collected and shown to the public

decorate – v. to make (something) more attractive usually by putting something on it

 

nobility – n. the quality or state of being noble in character or quality

1 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

2 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

3 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

4 pestle   

n.杵

参考例句：

• He ground the rock candy with a mortar and pestle.他自己动手用研钵和杵把冰糖研成粉。
• An iron pestle can be ground down to a needle.只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针。

5 pestles   

n.（捣碎或碾磨用的）杵( pestle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The stone was pecked and ground into cylindrical pestles. 石头被凿开并被磨成一根根圆形的杵。 来自辞典例句

6 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

7 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

8 carvings   

n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 quarries   

n.（采）石场( quarry的名词复数 )；猎物（指鸟，兽等）；方形石；（格窗等的）方形玻璃v.从采石场采得( quarry的第三人称单数 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石

参考例句：

• This window was filled with old painted glass in quarries. 这窗户是由旧日的彩色菱形玻璃装配的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They hewed out the stones for the building from nearby quarries. 他们从邻近的采石场开凿出石头供建造那栋房子用。 来自辞典例句