XLVI Feria Nacional del Cobre

For those who may be out and about or those looking for something to do August 6th - 17th, the National Copper Festival is being held in Santa Clara del Cobre (aka Salvador Escalante), Michoacan. For those that are unfamiliar with the area, Santa Clara del Cobre is only a 20 to 30 minute drive from Patzcuaro in a beautiful area of tall pines. Not only do they have contests for the copper artisans but there are numerous cultural events: parades, concerts, dance, sports tournaments, fireworks, and talent shows.

If you are in the area during this period, I would suggest thinking about attending. This town has really been feeling the "crunch" and seeing some support may add some positive vibes to their celebrations.

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Nice post Yuri, thanks for the heads up. Do you or does anyone know of any hotels in the area where we might make reservations? Thanks!

Here is a link to the hotels in Santa Clara del Cobre.

http://www.allmexicohotels.com/michoacan/santa-clara-del-cobre/

I stayed in Patzcuaro at La Casa Encantada which is about a 10 to 15 minute drive to Santa Clara - went over for the day to visit - fabulous copper. Lovely B&B in the heart of the downtown with secure parking. Rates are pricey but there is a 30% discount until Sept. My friend knew the owners and they told us some wonderful places to eat. Breakfast is in a beautiful dining room furnished with art from throughout Mexico and you meet the other travelers.

http://lacasaencantada.com/index.php

Oncesubtle:

Don't mean to against CanuckBob's suggestion but I can't recommend staying in Santa Clara del Cobre. From what we have seen hotels and for that matter restaurants are quite limited. Since Patzcuaro is just a short drive down the road, we have chosen to stay there. There are plenty of choices. Here is one of the better lists: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g499420-Patzcuaro_Central_Mexico_and_Gulf_Coast-Hotels.html

We lucked out on our very first visit when someone from Colorado recommended: http://mesondesanantonio.com/Main.htm
We have stayed at this wonderful establishment a total of eleven nights spread over three visits and at the present, it is our favorite hotel in Mexico. We have typically requested Room 15 and as long as you are not planning on being there 8/16 - 8/22 (when we have that room reserved), you may find it available. The rooms are spotless and the owners and staff are wonderful people. Unlike many spots in Mexico, when you send Alfredo, they will generally respond within a half day. One thing we really like about it is the location. Many of the other hotels are located on the Grand Plaza or Plaza Gertrudis which can be quite noisy. Meson de San Antonio is located up adjacent to the Basilica and tends to be quieter. We enjoy the walk down the hill to either of the plazas for dinner and the casual walk back up.

Photo Album: https://picasaweb.google.com/Chinagringo/MESONDeSANANTONIOPATZCUAROMICHOACANMEXICO

If you need any specifics or additional info, please feel free!

Haha......well I wouldn't disagree with you Yuri as the ones I found (as posted above) were all 2 or 3 star accomodations. I kind of figured Patzcuaro would have better options.

While there is a selection of street food opportunities, we found the town to be lacking in sit down type restaurants with much decent to eat. In fact, on 8/17 when I plan to spend the entire day there, I have made arrangements to take one of our suppliers out for lunch at: http://www.miralagorestaurant.com/english/english.html

Just ran across a flash slideshow I threw together for Santa Clara del Cobre:
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Aranza Zu in Morelia and take a tour to Santa Clara.

Come on Julie! Take a tour?

Driving the 20 minutes or so from Patzcuaro to Santa Clara del Cobre is an enjoyable scenic drive and really quite easy. Once you are in centro Santa Clara, you would have to be blind and lazy not to find all of the copper shops and many of the factories. Many of the shops typically offer to give you a tour of their particular factory.

I did make it to the last day of the Copper Festival but it was a fairly low key day with a small parade, the awarding of prizes to the youth entries in the copper contest and some evening festivities, which I didn't stay for because I didn't care to drive after sunset with those who had consumed way too much cerveza or tequila. My contact had been celebrating with the crowds on the plaza the night before. He left at 3am and they were still going strong!

The town of Santa Clara del Cobre is really hurting! The major factors contributing to their downturn in business are: 1) The decrease in tourists visiting the town due to the negative publicity about the security situation in the State of Michoacan, 2) The decrease in export business NOB primarily due to the economy and lower priced "knockoffs" from China and India, 3) The increase in world copper prices. I was sitting at a table on the plaza with two of my local contacts having a cold cerveza and the local bread vendor pushing his cart approached us all excited since he had just spotted "three Gringos" at the far end of the plaza. This was real news!

Updated Slideshow: https://picasaweb.google.com/118146709599975173363/SANTACLARADELCOBREMICH?authkey=Gv1sRgCPiY7_rq7_W0MQ#slideshow/5648176219081073890

Where is Santa Clara del Cobre?
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Santa+Clara+del+Cobre,+Michoac%C3%A1n,+Mexico&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=19.406373,-101.640015&spn=0.241567,0.411987&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=26.039016,52.734375&vpsrc=6&z=11

For anyone who may be interested, the Copper Festival starts Friday, 8/10 and continues until 8/19.

We took the bus so we didn't have transpo so we took a van over there that let us spend the day there.
Mr. Know it all.

Posada San Rafael Hotel on plaza grande is pretty nice and inexpensive. Lots of food close. Off street parking

This year's poster:

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