Glass Blowing Factory
We took a field trip in language
school to a local "Fabrica de Vidrio" (Glass Factory). This
place is located within spitting distance of our new host family's house in
Cantel. Our host dad knows several of the workers there, some are
cousins of our host mom, Graciela. The men in the factory get to work
at 5am and close up shop at about noon or 1pm, because it gets way too hot in
the building to function. They work six days per week, every week, without
fail. Every one of them puts in a hard day's work. They were going
non-stop during our visit, creating vases, wine glasses, and pitchers in a
matter of minutes. They cut molten glass with scissors. They
frequently grab bare-handed a lead pole that's been sitting in a fire for a
while... splashing handfuls of water on it to try and cool it off. There
is no strict measuring, etc. These guys just know exactly how big to make
everything by eye-balling it. A set of 6 wine glasses matches in height
and weight. Cool stuff!
The vast majority (85%) of the
things made here are exported to other countries. The rest is sold in
local markets or at the factory's store at cut-rate prices. A 3' tall hand
made flower vase is roughly $7. It was a fascinating process to watch.
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