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Mexico boasts a great variety of handicrafts. Every region of the country, indeed almost every state, produces its own forms of popular art. Such widespread production is, however, a somewhat recent phenomenon.

For Mexico, the world's awakening to the virtues of handicrafts happily coincided with the advent of tourism which gave a boost to a business that hasn't flagged for 75 years.And while handicraft production continues to be a cottage industry as tunics are woven in the front yard while pots are fired in the back, it's one practiced by many. Literally millions and millions of Mexicans now derive all or part of their livelihood from a business they can practice at home.

Today the tourist destinations of Mexico abound with craft shops. In fact a new genre of mercado municipal (market), dedicated exclusively to handicrafts, has sprung up in major cities where shoppers enjoy a dazzling range of crafts.

Products like unglazed pottery, Panama hats, cottons or dresses, guayabera shirts, basketry and hammocks, rugs, masks, glassware, ceramics, hand-woven and embroidered textiles, toys, lacquer ware, blown glass, bark paper paintings, filigree, papier maché, silver, pottery, leather goods, mariachi sombreros, copperware, wrought iron, wooden figurines, tinwork, pewter, stone carvings, guitars, piñatas and so on.

While striking, hand-woven rugs, sarapes, dresses, shawls, wall hangings and bags from all over Mexico are available in Cancún, perhaps some of the most interesting come from the mountain villages of the Maya in Chiapas.

Weaving is still done on backstop looms by women thought to be divinely inspired. The weaver sets the cloth with symbols that capture her singular vision of the universe and her people's place within it.

As a vehicle for their most sacred beliefs, weaving embodies the Maya's cultural identity and ensures their survival.

Ahuipil (tunic) is the most transcendent piece of work produced by the highland Maya. It can be long or short and take from four to five months to weave.

Look for huipiles (u-ee-pill-es) along with belts, bags, samplers and wall hangings. The embroidery done by these women is also spectacular and can be seen on placemats, tablecloths, blouses, belts and shirts.

Perhaps no one has achieved such diversity of form and decoration in ceramics as the Mexicans. In fact, some experts believe ceramics to have been the grates of all pre-Hispanic crafts: the ancient Maya, Totonac and Aztec people were all gifted potters.

Nowadays, items run the gamut from whimsical to utilitarian and reflect techniques that are both primitive and hi-tech. The potter's wheel was introduced by the Spaniards but many today still prefer freehand techniques or the simple expedient of using two dinner plates, one placed on top of the other!

Many of the strictly decorative, zoomorphic figures of Chiapas, Puebla, Jalisco, Michoacán, the State of México, Tlaxcala and Veracruz are fired without a kiln and modeled by hand. Guanajuato and Puebla produce some of the finest stoneware and glazed pottery in the world; indeed their Talavera-style hand painted ceramics are famous for their predominantly blue and white designs, used to great effect in tiles, plates and Oriental-style vases.

When browsing, through local shops be on the look out for pottery angels, Nativity scenes, surreal creatures, street scenes, kitchen pantries and churches with tiny people in the belfry, all modeled and painted by hand in a staggering array of primary colors. Except for a few, extremely popular styles produced by molds (some figurines and all plates), no two pieces are alike.

Yucatecan potters imbue the frivolous, the fanciful and the useful with their own inimitable style: flower pots, water jugs, cooking pots and dishes mingle with hundreds of different polychrome vessels sporting pre-Hispanic Mayan motifs. Replicas of Mayan gods and personalities are modeled by hand and are great fun. If you are traveling by car, put Ticul, Yucatán on your agenda - it's the area's "potter's village" par excellence.

This lovely, warm metal has been worked in México since time immemorial. The Indians worked it into jewelry, arms household utensils, even needles.

At one point it had a monetary value in that copper axes were not only bartered but used as "legal tender".

Michoacán, specifically Santa Clara Del cobre, is the copper producing area of México and has been for centuries (though Guanajuato and Jalisco work copper are rarely used by artisans who find the cost prohibitive; scrap copper is used which fortunately of the finished product.

Mexican craftsmen prefer the martillado (beaten or hammered) technique. The traditional item was the pot which came in every size from miniature to gigantic. However, with the advent of inexpensive aluminum cookware, the demand for copper pots fell off dramatically and coppersmiths, driven more by economics than aesthetics, turned to the production of decorative items.

The fine plates, vases, goblets, candlesticks, kettles, platters, etc. available today are shaped from a single sheet of beaten copper (only handles and ladles are attached separately). Relatively recent is the chiseled or repoussé jewelry now sold all over the country.

Silver lovers couldn't pick a better destination than Mexico. The country is the world's number one producer of the noble metal and its silversmiths are some of the are some of the finest around.

Taxco, a small colonial town in the mountains of Guerrero, is the silver working capital of México. Families of smiths turn out stunning jewelry, goblets, trays, cutlery and sculptures using techniques passed down from father to son.

Styles may be inspired by ancient pieces found in the tombs of prehispanic rulers and intricate colonial masterpieces or avant garde creations inlaid with semi precious stones such as amethyst, malachite, turquoise, tiger's eye, lapiz lazuli and opal.

Look out for silver rings with mounted diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires, and reproductions of pre-Hispanic jewelry found in a tomb at the archeological site of Monte Alban, Oaxaca.

There are basically two types of lacquerware: that on which the figures are etched onto the object's surface and that on which the design is merely painted.

Connoisseurs claim that México's fines laca comes from Olinalá, Guerrero, but others point to pieces from Chiapas de Corzo, Chiapas.

All kinds of objects are honored with the application of lacquer: gourds, wooden trays, plates and boxes (ranging in size from a jewelry case to a hope chest).

Flowers and birds are the preferred motifs, usually painted - or etched - on a black background, although the artisans of Chiapas favor red, white and blues as a base color.

Many states work wood, but the items from the Yucatán Peninsula are carved from the tropical hard woods that attracted international companies to the area in search of riches during the 19th century.

Figurines, Maya-motif busts, toys, kitchen utensils, vases and furniture of mahogany, cedar and rosewoods are characteristic of the region. If you are a serious buyer, visit the village of Dzityá, outside Mérida; you can watch some of the finest artisans in the peninsula at work - and strike a few bargains.

Wooden mask from the state of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero make great collectibles: jaguars, devils, Spaniards, monkeys and old man are just some of the subjects portrayed in a variety of distinctive styles.

And those who appreciate whimsy and creativity must see the unique, nightmare creatures produced by the Linares family and other craftsmen from villages in Oaxaca state. The figures may be difficult to describe, but you'll know one when you see it: two headed dragons breathing fire, winged fish on legs, skulls with flower- painted eye sockets etc. The color schemes used to paint the figures are just as imaginative as the grotesques themselves: dots and stripes are applied with vigor to backgrounds of turquoise, fire engine red, hot pink, canary yellow and royal blue. There's really nothing quite like a alebrije (alley-bree-hay), ask for them by name.

Many states work wood, but the items from the Yucatán Peninsula are carved from the tropical hard woods that attracted international companies to the area in search of riches during the 19th century.

Classic dress for gents in tropical Latin America is the guayabera, the cotton shirt with distinctive pleating that's worn outside the trousers. The loose-fitting guayabera comes in an array of colors (though white is preferred) and is available in both a long and short-sleeved version.

The guayabera is acceptable dress for day and evening, in the office or at a ball. Mérida probably offers the biggest selection in the region, although the shirts are sold all over the area. A Panamá hat adds a touch of elegance to this tropical attire.

When ask about the Panama tradition, the inhabitants of the Yucatán Peninsula proudly point out that the fines hats in the world are woven in Becal, a tiny village in Campeche.

AThe ladies, both mestiza and indigena, wear the light huipil of the lowland Maya. The Yucatecan huipil is a square-necked shift of white cotton with elaborate embroidery about the neck and hem. Traditionally, a underskirt reaching the ankles is worn under the knee-length huipil, though for everyday wear, the underskirt is often dispensed with.

Agala version of the outfit, fitted with a huge bib of crocheted lace at the neck, and layers more throughout the skirt is used for very special occasions (and for folk dancing). A dark-colored, long-fringed shawl of shiny cotton and the ubiquitous fan, complete the costume.

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