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Grana cochinilla Fina — the Best Kept Secret in Oaxaca

Alvin Starkman MA, LL.B.

Most tourists have no idea that only a few hundred meters from the main road, a minute or two of the black pottery village, one of the most fascinating Destinations that the state of Oaxaca has to offer for children and adults. And yet the majority of travelers have at least heard or read a snippet about the natural red dye that comes from a tiny insect and is used to color the rugs they buy in Teotitlan del Valle, and other products, including some of the foods and Beverages that we eat today … the Grana Fina cochinilla, commonly known simply as cochineal.

I suspect that from reading their leaders or speaking tour guides and taxi drivers, visitors are usually not made aware of the importance of this small error on the world stage over the centuries, or perhaps have them think it's enough to buy a carpet and told them dyed with cochineal has been to see and touch and a few dried insects … instead of spending 40 or For 50 minutes in amazement. It might be different if they occur with the conquest era, in addition to gold and silver, cochineal knew the most valuable commodity known to man, and that in 1758 about 1.5 million pounds of Oaxaca Spanish it exports to Europe, Africa and Asia for a variety of applications, including the dying of fabrics, including the uniforms of the British nobility and cavalry carried.

Tlapanochestli known collectively as the picturesque research institution, museum, ranch and open-air learning environment in Santa María Coyotepec off a dirt road only 15 minutes away from downtown Oaxaca. The attraction is designed to attract the interest of the discontinued travelers all ages and all backgrounds, from amateur to academic or professional.

Upon entering Tlapanochestli welcomes you from one of its employees, based on the ranch, or perhaps one of the two scientists, research and teaching programs are working, engineers Manual Loera Fernández and Ignacio del Río Dueñas. They are learn about the lifecycle of the cochineal, as she herself attaches and feeds on a given variety of nopal cactus, and their harvest and preparation for use as a dye. Both children and adults delight and awe to have beaten either living or dried bow on her palm yielding the scarlet Pigment compressed. They are taught why not all types of nopal cactus suitable for the production of cochineal, which are used to have to make salads, and sold the grapes, the production of the sweet red edible fruit known as tuna, seasonal in marketplaces such as apples and oranges, and as often as a sorbet or Taste of fresh fruit juice encountered.

But your tour is not only about the insect and its host, but also learning about a variety other natural products used for food and textiles, such as pecan shells, oyster shells dye, pomegranate, marigold, moss, onions, and the plant that our Añil Blues and Indigos produced. Combine some of these dyes with the cochineal results in an even wider range of color. You will also discover how to use in combination with Lime juice or baking soda and to produce different colors of natural wool vermilion orange and purple skin.

One can only marvel at the diversity of commercial products that use the cochineal as a dye, such as lipsticks and make-up for allergic or sensitive to synthetic red and orange tones, Danone yogurt, Campari and even Campbell's Soup. Often artists have chosen to cochineal and other natural colors employ for their work, and accordingly Witness walls with examples of fine art created without the use of chemical paint decorated. The photos of Prince Charles' visit is a testament to Tlapanochestli the world continues to charm of historical and contemporary significance of grana cochineal Fina. In the souvenir shop there is an opportunity to purchase dried cochineal for your own Use, ink in an attractive wax sealed bottle, paint and paste, ball, clothing, soap, and for the children, perhaps one color set consisting of dried Scale insects to crush the clay miniature pestle and mortar, along with Coloring pages with instructions on how to use the kit and directing their own shades of red, orange and pink.

A short video, the production of cochineal in the proper historical context with facts, anecdotes and myths, with pictures, telling using language easily understood by children. At the same time, those will have answered all their questions with a background or interest in the natural sciences. The film Next page outlines the pre-Hispanic use of the pigment, the development of an internationally regulated industry the attention of the global state of the conquest, and their importance known in the global market as the most powerful and brilliant color for the human race and its demise in the mid-1800 to the invention of synthetic dye and the subsequent negative impact on the Mexican economy. Oaxaca While production and exports that he never again from the 19th Century recessive factors to the conclusion that video on a optimistic note documents the revival of industry in recent decades in the face of widespread concern about the health continued reliance on synthetic chemicals to dye commercial products.

After your cinematic journey back into history, and having gained insights into how natural produced dyes and uses a variety of applications, your perception not only Oaxaca but also the Western world has always been addressed are … whether you are shopping in Oaxaca for carpets, the local provider observe in a market or ordering ice cream, or sit in the comfort of your home and drank a Campari and soda.

About the Author

Alvin Starkman received his Masters in Social Anthropology in 1978. After teaching for a few years he attended Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, thereafter embarking upon a career as a litigator until 2004. Alvin now resides in Oaxaca, where he writes, leads small group tours to the villages, markets, ruins and other sites, is a consultant to film production companies, and operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast. ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ) .

Jerry Reed-She Got The Gold Mine (I Got The Shaft)