Mexico is so richly endowed with appealing artesanias (handicrafts) that even the most hardened non hunter of souvenirs might find it hard to get home without at least one pair of earrings or a little model animal. Such a huge and colorful range of arts and crafts can be found, at mostly reasonable prices, that virtually everyone is irresistibly attracted to something, somewhere along the way.  

Tourists and the Mexican themselves are eager buyers and collectors of such handicrafts . The colorful, highly decorative crafts that catch the eye in shops and markets today are, in a way, counterparts to the splendid costumes, beautiful ceramics and elaborate jewellery used by the nobility of Aztec, Mayan and other pre-Hispanic cultures.

Contemporary artisans still turn out countless handmade objects, pots, hats, baskets, toys, clothes, sandals, glasses, blouses, for everyday use, just as they did centuries before the Spanish came.

Many modern crafts are easily traced to their pre-Hispanic origins, and some techniques, designs and materials have remained unchanged.

A lot of handicrafts today show a clear fusion of prehispanic and Spanish inspirations. Because many of Mexico's indigenous peoples maintain age-old skills and traditions, it's no surprise that the areas producing the most exciting artesanias are often those with prominent indigenous populations, in states such as Chiapas, Guerrero, México, Michoacán, Jalisco, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, and Sonora.