Taxco, Mexico, November 2003

Year: 2003 (November 2003)

11″ x 8.5″

Media: Canon® Pro Platinum High Gloss Photo Paper

Printers: Canon® PIXMA

Color

Art: Photo

Artist: Luc Paquin

Taxco, Mexico

Silver and Silversmithing

Silverwork and tourism related to Taxco’s status as a silver town is the mainstay of the economy. There is one major mining operation on the outskirts of town, Industrial Minera México S.A., but this enterprise announced in 2007 that it will phase out operations here due to the depletion of reserves and labor problems. Most commercial activity related to silver is the production and sale of silver jewelry, silverware and other goods. Silversmithing was reinvigorated here by American William Spratling, who moved to Taxco in the 1920s, creating silver design workshops and exported items, mostly to the United States. With its fame for silversmithing, tourism became a major economic force for the town. Commerce in silver here is both regional and international. Just under half of the municipality’s population is involved in the tourism trade. Streets in the town are filled with silvershops selling jewelry, silverware and other goods.

Luc