China mass produces most of the toys you’ll find in stores these days. If you’re looking for incricate handcrafted toys made in local workshops, you may have to go to Oaxaca, Mexico. That’s where Miguel Ramirez has been making toys for more than 40 years.

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[FIREWORKS]

Public celebrations like New Year’s Eve and Independence Day draw huge crowds to Oaxaca City’s central square. The celebrations include fireworks, live music, and…

[FOAM FIGHT]

…playful fights with spray foam. By the time the party is over, empty aerosol cans blanket the square. It’s an amazing amount of litter…but not all of it ends up in a landfill.

[COLLECTING CANS]

RAMIREZ (in Spanish, voiced over): “So we pick it up, as much as we can. We’re able to gather around 10, 15, even 20 sacks full and they last us all year.”

That’s local artist Miguel Ramirez. More than four decades ago, he started turning these cans into toy airplanes, helicopters, trains, antique cars…and even UFOs.

Mr. Ramirez has a toy workshop in his home, where he shows me how he turns the empty spray cans into raw material for his creations.

[Miguel Ramirez cutting cans – reporter describes process]

He takes one of the cans out of a sack, holds down the valve to release any remaining air, then knocks the valve off. Then, he hammers the tip of a knife into the upper side of the can and cuts off its top. Ramirez uses the tops to make the wheels for his trains and cars. Next, he cuts off the bottom of the can…. Bottoms make good reflectors. Then, he slices up the can’s metal seam with scissors.

RAMIREZ (in Spanish): “Then you open it up, then flatten the metal.”

Ramirez uses a thick piece of wood to do that.

RAMIREZ: “From there, you wash it with a good amount of water. Once it’s clean, you let it dry, shine it with newspaper and then fold over the edges.”

[SANDER STARTING UP]

He makes sure to leave no sharp edges. What he can’t fold into a side seam, he smooths over with a sanding wheel. Ramirez transforms the sheet metal into car chassis, steam engine chimneys, and decorative ladders for his UFOs. Solder holds everything together.

All of his creations… which can be up to 2 feet long…. have moving parts and some make sounds – like this airplane.

[PLANE CLICKING SOUND]
RAMIREZ: “That’s what gets the attention of young people, children and even adults (laughs).”

Ramirez and his wife take to the streets occasionally to sell their pieces…but it’s a bit  tricky. They don’t have an expensive street vendor’s license. So they have to do their selling while walking. They cradle a model or two in their arms while carrying others in tote bags slung over their shoulders.

Patricia Diaz has bought several pieces from Ramirez and recalls the 1st time she saw him and his wife.

PATRICIA DIAZ (in Spanish, voiced over): “I saw them walk by selling these toys, or these objects made from sheet metal. I went downstairs to inquire and they had already walked ahead. I had almost lost them, but I caught up and well, I really liked what they had. It’s really lovely and well done work.”

The work is also very labor-intensive. Miguel Ramirez says he can produce 6 trains or cars in one month. He repairs electronic appliances to supplement the family income, but says his heart is in his handcrafted artwork.

RAMIREZ: “The work is very labor-intensive, but it’s worthwhile. I feel good doing this work.

One of his handmade cars or trains costs about 50 dollars. That’s about  the same as a remote controlled vehicle or a brand name plastic toy truck of the same size. The big difference being the metal toy is more likely to survive an entire childhood.

Oaxaca City is home to some very talented graffiti artists. One day, I hope to go through the years of photos I’ve been taking of the city’s walls, but for now, here’s the short Centennial Edition of street art depicting heroes of the Mexican Revolution that began in November of 1910. There’s more out there, but I just happened to have a camera on me when passing these.

The image to the right is of the Oaxacan-born revolutionary journalist and anarchist Ricardo Flores Magón. He is often referred to as one of the intellectual founders of the Mexican Revolution. He was chief editor of the newspaper Regeneración and his strident stance in opposition to the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz (another native of Oaxaca) led to multiple arrests in Mexico and exile in the United States.

Exile did not treat Flores Magón well. The US administration at the time was close to the Mexican dictator and found ways to make sure the revolutionary journalist spent years in prison there as well. His overt anarchism in later life also attracted negative attention from the authorities – as it did for his close friend Emma Goldman. In 1918, he was arrested and sentenced to 20 years for violating sections of the World War I-era Espionage Act.

Ricardo Flores Magón died a political prisoner in Leavenworth Penitentiary on November 21, 1922. His remains were later repatriated to Mexico, where they were buried in the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons…an honor the anti-authoritarian may have actually opposed were he given a choice.

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