♪ Narrator: Mexico.

From its big city plazas to its shimmering seasides... this ancient land is a melting pot of inspiration.

♪ [Clinking] Man: I'm always looking to see what can I put into the world that hasn't been put there.

[Woman speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Whether it's putting a new spin on classic crafts... [Sizzling] or cooking up delicious cuisine... the key ingredients are passion and dedication.

Woman: The love that we are bringing and putting inside each piece needs to be recognized.

Narrator: Using a palette of bold colors and big ideas, they make creations that evoke the richness of their history, culture, and imagination.

[Man speaks Spanish] ♪ ♪ [Bell chiming] Narrator: Since its founding almost 500 years ago, Puebla has held a special place in Mexican history.

♪ Woman: The revolution started here.

We had the battle of Cinco de Mayo here.

So, it is a very special place.

♪ Narrator: Puebla is also known for its abundance of exquisite Mexican architecture and art-- especially talavera poblana, or talavera pottery.

♪ Woman: Talavera is a very old kind of majolica.

It is a technique that was introduced by the Spaniards in the 16th century.

♪ Narrator: When the Spanish settled in Mexico, Puebla quickly became a center for the Catholic Church-- which built cathedrals, monasteries, universities, and more.

Lots of ceramic tiles were needed to decorate those places.

So, the new arrivals teamed up with local artisans.

Woman: What they found here is that they have very, very good artisans working with the hands, and the clays were very good.

Narrator: Indigenous artists using Spanish influences created something new-- talavera pottery making.

From the mid-17th century into the mid-18th century, many companies were built to meet the demands for these ceramics, and the oldest one left is Uriarte Talavera.

Woman: Uriarte Talavera-- this is a company that was founded in 1824, right when Mexico was founded, so, it is the oldest company in the state of Puebla and one of the 8 oldest companies in the country.

I am Mariana Munoz and I work in a talavera ceramics workshop in Puebla, Mexico.

♪ Narrator: This historic workshop makes everything from tiles to tableware, using the same techniques artisans from Puebla have used for centuries.

♪ Mariana: We follow a very, very strict process, exactly in the same way that was introduced in the 16th century from the Spaniards.

♪ Narrator: It all starts with locally sourced clay molded and shaped by hand.

♪ Mariana: We have the white clay and the black clay that we mix together, and these clays need to be completely natural.

We cannot add anything.

So, that makes the process very difficult.

♪ Narrator: After cooking in a kiln at high heat, the pieces can take 5 weeks or more to dry.

♪ [Clanking] Then workers test for a consistent thickness in each piece of pottery by tapping them.

[Clanking] A solid ding is a good sign.

[Scraping] Then the pottery is sanded down to get ready for glazing.

♪ They make their own glaze here, using a traditional mix that includes sand, water, and tin.

Mariana: It needs to be dipped.

So, the application is only by immersion.

[Man speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: After glazing, workers mark each one-of-a-kind piece with the company logo and date.

Then it's time for the distinctive talavera style painting.

♪ First, a charcoal outline is layered on.

♪ Then, artisans use one of 5 distinctive colors.

♪ Mariana: We produce our own pigments here.

So, we have to bring all the mineral oxides to create all the pigments, to create the colors.

It has a very limited palette of colors because we have to make these colors.

Narrator: Today, this flowerpot is decorated with a classic cobalt blue.

[Woman speaks Spanish] Narrator: The paint is carefully applied with a special brush made of mule hair.

[Woman speaks Spanish] Narrator: These artists need to be both exacting and versatile.

Mariana: Each one is making a different piece.

So, today, maybe a painter is painting a tile, but tomorrow he will be painting a big piece, and the next week he will be in a mural project.

♪ Narrator: After being painted, each piece goes back into the kiln one more time.

♪ At last, it's ready for the world, where talavera pottery is always in high demand.

Mariana: We have very important people, presidents, artists, having pieces from us in their houses.

Sometimes you get an interview from someone and you see, OK, there's a piece of mine.

So, you feel proud.

Narrator: That sense of pride shows in everything they make here-- and in how they make it.

Mariana: A lot of workshops don't open their doors because they don't want to show their secrets.

And for us, it is the opposite.

We really want to show that it is not like a product that doesn't have a face, but there are so many people behind this that need to be recognized.

♪ Narrator: It's one of Mexico's most famous dishes-- a recipe that takes a lot of patience and preparation-- all to create a sauce with an explosion of flavor.

It's called mole.

♪ Man: If there's going to be a wedding, you will have mole.

And if there's another celebration, like a holy communion, they will make mole.

♪ Narrator: Mole is distinctly Mexican and yet everywhere you go, it's unique.

Most types include nuts or seeds, chili peppers, dried spices, and fruit, all mixed together.

In Puebla, which locals claim as the birthplace of mole, they are known for mole poblano.

♪ It's a dish that chef Martin Hernández has made his own.

So, we are at El Mural de los Poblanos and we're going to make our traditional dish that is mole.

We have a lot of sweet in the mole in Puebla.

♪ Narrator: Speaking of sweet, the first ingredient is fried plantains.

Chef Martin also sprinkles in a mix of cooked almonds, peanuts, and raisins.

Martin: So, we have a lot of flavor here.

We have all the flavors in the mouth.

Narrator: Next, he adds spices-- and one of mole poblano's signature ingredients-- chocolate.

Martin: So, the chocolate is going to be the sweet part of the mole.

We also have the raisins and the plantain.

So, that's a lot of sugar.

♪ Narrator: A sprinkling of animal crackers adds a touch more sweetness-- and helps thicken the texture.

[Bell chiming] Legend has it the concept of mole poblano was born at a convent here in the 17th century as the nuns hurried to make a special meal for a visiting archbishop.

One of the people over there was carrying a lot of stuff and by accident threw all the ingredients into the pot.

Narrator: More likely, mole was inspired by visitors from Asia and Europe who brought their native foods and cooking techniques with them.

Martin: Yeah, so, everything came to Puebla.

We have a lot of flavors.

A lot of ingredients.

Narrator: Other key ingredients are tomatoes and hot peppers, native to Mexico.

[Sizzling] Martin: We have the sweet, we have the spicy of the chilies, we have the smoky.

That's the magic thing with mole.

♪ Narrator: Chef Martin adds a cooked corn tortilla, then blends it all together.

♪ Everything together is going to be a lot of flavor here.

♪ Narrator: A splash of chicken broth adds even more flavor and thins the mixture out.

♪ After cooking anywhere from a few hours to a few days, the mole is ready to serve.

♪ Martin: So, we have the traditional way to eat mole.

Yeah, so, you can like this and eat like that.

What can I tell you?

Delicious.

Narrator: Whatever recipe one uses to make mole, there's one ingredient that's essential--a dash of love.

Martin: If you don't put love in the food, it's going to be, like, too spicy or too sweet or no.

So, we have a lot of flavor and there's a lot of love.

♪ Narrator: If you need something to wash down your mole, try a margarita.

This classic drink was first served up in the 1930s.

While there are many stories about its creation, everyone agrees that this mix of tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice has a uniquely Mexican flavor.

♪ It's one of the most iconic looks in Mexican fashion-- the vintage white blouse and colorful embroidered skirt.

♪ Known as china poblana, this outfit reflects Mexico's legacy as a place where different cultures come together.

You can see it in the poblana blouse, which mixes indigenous design with Asian influences in a look that never goes out of style.

♪ Tizoc and Jenny run one of the few shops still making poblana blouses by hand.

♪ [Whirring] For Tizoc, the work calls on skills he learned early on.

[Tizoc speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Tizoc's mother Silvia has also been doing this kind of handiwork since she was young.

[Silvia speaks Spanish] Narrator: Now Silvia's mother is part of the business-- and so is Tizoc's wife Jenny.

After buying a blouse online, she got to know Tizoc, and fell in love with both him and blouse making.

Together, they all make poblana blouses just as artisans have done for hundreds of years.

♪ The first step is cutting the fabric.

♪ [Jenny speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Once the fabric is cut, the next step is stamping a pattern to be embroidered.

[Thudding] ♪ [Tizoc speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Then the design is sewn into the blouse.

♪ [Tizoc speaks Spanish] ♪ [Tizoc speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: The birth of the china poblana style is shrouded in mystery.

According to one legend, a kidnapped princess from India was brought to Puebla by pirates.

When she mixed the sari with traditional indigenous fashion, the poblana style was born.

[Silvia speaks Spanish] [Whirring] Narrator: The final step is stitching all the fabric together.

♪ At last, the blouse is done.

[Speaks Spanish] Narrator: The work can be painstaking... but at least it's a family affair.

[Tizoc speaks Spanish] [Speaks Spanish] ♪ ♪ Narrator: Known as "The White City," Merida is the capital of Yucatan... ♪ a region full of gorgeous beaches, Mayan ruins, and wonders that please the eyes...and the palate.

♪ Young or old, everyone loves chocolate.

♪ Its smooth, sweet flavor can be hard to resist.

This tasty treat is popular all around the world, but experts say its origins can be traced here to Mexico.

I'm Mathieu Brees, I'm a chocolate maker from Merida, Yucatan.

♪ Narrator: Mathieu came here from Belgium, a country that's famous for its chocolate.

Mathieu: I have a passion for chocolate since I have, I think, 14 years.

Narrator: That passion led him to study how chocolate is made-- and, ultimately, to trace its roots.

Mathieu: When I was studying in Belgium, I read a book, the history of chocolate, and the history of chocolate start in Yucatan.

Narrator: Mayans in the Yucatan peninsula learned about chocolate from the Olmecs, the first people to grind cacao beans for powder.

Both the Mayans and later the Aztecs considered chocolate "the food of the gods" and used it in their celebrations and rituals.

♪ The first step in making chocolate is finding ripe cacao pods.

Mathieu: We don't have any machinery for cutting, for harvesting.

Everything is by hand.

♪ Narrator: Mathieu's farm grows criollo beans, which he considers the gold standard of cocoa beans.

Mathieu: The criollo bean for us are the best and when we make chocolate with this, we have a very special chocolate.

♪ Narrator: To find the ripe pods, Mathieu and his team rely on their ears, not their eyes.

[Tapping] Mathieu: So, we need to... [Tapping] the sound.

[Tapping] It's OK. [Tapping] It's not OK. Narrator: A hollow sound tells them if the pods are ready.

[Brees speaks Spanish] [Concho speaks Spanish] Narrator: Picking the perfect cocoa bean is an art-- one that Concho has mastered.

[Speaks Spanish] Mathieu: The guy is amazing because he start like us with no knowledge and now he has the quality to keep the knowledge and to share the knowledge to other people.

[Speaks Spanish] Narrator: Concho faces one obstacle in finding ripe pods.

[Brees speaks Spanish] Narrator: Getting to them before the birds do.

[Concho speaks Spanish] ♪ [Concho speaks Spanish] Narrator: The ripe pods are cut open to find the beans, which are left in large wooden boxes to ferment for 8 days.

♪ Mathieu: It's one of the most important parts of how to make chocolate.

If you don't have any fermentation, we then don't have any flavor inside your beans.

♪ Narrator: After fermentation, the beans are left to dry, which helps remove acidity.

Mathieu: The drying is very important for us to dry with the sun.

We checks the humidity.

When you have less than 7% of humidity, the beans are going to the chocolate factory.

♪ Narrator: At the factory, the beans are roasted.

Then a machine takes the shells off.

The cocoa nibs that remain are melted and sugar and vanilla are added.

The more cocoa in the mixed chocolate and the less sugar, the more "pure" it is.

Mathieu: When I start 20 years ago, I fixed my mind to make at least 75% cocoa inside my chocolate, very dark and pure.

♪ Narrator: Next, the melted chocolate is poured into molds, where nuts or spices are added.

[Machine whirring] Finally, the chocolate goes to the fridge to cool.

♪ It's then packaged and sent to market-- with a unique flavor in every batch.

Mathieu: Chocolate is not an industrial stuff.

Chocolate come from a fruit.

It's like a bottle of wine.

You can have a wine from the same place, the same chateau, but from '22 or from '23, the flavor will be totally different.

Narrator: The final product is a labor of love-- and Mathieu hopes to pass this devotion on to the next generation.

Mathieu: My chocolate is totally made with love.

Only with love.

I never, I never, never work for money.

That's the reason why we have success.

♪ Narrator: In the late 19th century, Yucatan became one of the richest places in the world... all because of a humble yet mighty plant.

[Man speaks Spanish] Narrator: Henequen is an all-natural fiber that can easily be turned into super-strong rope, bags, and more.

And it comes from a plant native to the Yucatan Peninsula.

Today, henequen has been replaced by modern plastics, but some have found a new use for what was once known around here as "green gold."

♪ [Speaks Spanish] Narrator: Jose Corro works with his wife and daughters to create one-of-a-kind lamps decorated with henequen.

[Jose speaks Spanish] [Woman speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Henequen was first discovered here by the Mayans over 1,400 years ago.

They used it for everything from making ropes and nets to bags and hammocks.

[Woman speaks Spanish] Narrator: Henequen is pulled from the leaves of a type of agave plant.

The raw henequen fibers first come in as long, loose strands that need to be rolled into shape.

[Woman speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: They've got more than 1,000 lamp designs as well as hotpads, baskets, and more... and Jose and his family always look forward to making something new.

[Speaks Spanish] [Woman speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: With its vibrant restaurant scene, Merida is known for its fresh seafood... ♪ and for its close proximity to waterways, where local fishermen drop their lines.

♪ [Speaks Spanish] Narrator: Alex has been fishing his whole adult life, and he knows just how to make his lure-- a kind of artificial bait-- dance to attract prey.

♪ [Alex speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Skill is important... but so is patience.

♪ [Speaks Spanish] Ha ha!

Ooh!

Ha ha!

[Speaks Spanish] Ha ha ha!

♪ Narrator: Fresh fish makes for a delicious meal... especially when prepared with the finest Mexican ingredients.

[Speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: An achiote paste is rubbed on-- a seasoning with a nutty, earthy flavor.

[Woman speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: After adding salt and pepper, the fish is grilled, and a zesty sauce is made to go with it.

[Woman speaks Spanish] ♪ [Speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Oaxaca.

It's an ancient city with a rich culture.

♪ A place known for its legendary Day of the Dead celebration... ♪ and the skill of its artisans.

♪ It's the guiding light behind one of Mexico's most legendary traditions... the velas de concha, or shell candles.

These stunning works of art first used snail shells as molds.

♪ For generations, these and other Mexican ceremonial candles have been made right here in Oaxaca.

♪ Over the last 6 decades, these classic candles have evolved thanks to the visionary Viviana Alavez.

She first learned the craft of sculpting beeswax from her grandmother.

[Speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Viviana's process starts with melted beeswax.

It gets poured again and again, hardening along the string that becomes the wick--but slowly.

♪ It can take up to 400 pours to get a finished candle.

♪ Incredibly, that's the easy part.

♪ Viviana and her team then add hand-sculpted wax flowers-- a design she pioneered and has taught many others.

♪ [Woman speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Back when she was a young mother, Viviana learned her husband was sick.

She soon had to figure out how to support her family on her own.

♪ [Viviana speaks Spanish] Narrator: What she did was rely on her candle-making skills.

At the time, most candles were given to the Catholic Church in exchange for food.

Viviana expanded the market, as well as the vision for what these candles could be... by taking fresh inspiration from nature.

[Viviana speaks Spanish] Narrator: In the years since, Viviana's unique candles have been embraced by visitors from all over the world.

[Viviana speaks Spanish] Narrator: Some are decorative, but many are used as a nod to an ancient Zapotec wedding ritual, where the family carries candles to the new bride's house.

[Viviana speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: To Viviana, tradition is critical... but so is innovation.

As the leader of several generations working here, she hopes to see her family's candle making legacy continue to evolve far into the future.

[Viviana speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Mezcal.

It was once known as the poor man's tequila.

But lately, this Mexican spirit has taken its own place on the top shelf.

Like tequila, mezcal traces its roots back almost 2,000 years to the local indigenous nations.

But it's unique in that it has a wide range of flavors, and can be created from dozens of types of agave.

♪ Oaxaca is the most important region for mezcal.

[Speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Porfirio's family has been in the mezcal business for generations.

His great-grandfather started making it back in 1897.

When he and his siblings were growing up, his father was a mezcal distributor.

[Speaks Spanish] Narrator: Ultimately, he decided to carry on the family tradition.

Today, his company is one of just a few hundred artisanal producers of mezcal-- based here in Oaxaca.

[Man speaks Spanish] Narrator: Jose Obregon oversees the mezcal-making process here from start to finish.

According to him, mezcal is something you can drink for pleasure and a kind of home remedy.

Or, as the locals say... [Speaks Spanish] Ha ha ha!

♪ Narrator: Making mezcal starts with the agave itself.

This plant, which looks like a pineapple on steroids, can grow more than 10 feet tall.

♪ The agave is roasted and then ripped and cut into smaller pieces.

♪ Next, they use a traditional method of mashing and crushing the agave... ♪ horse power.

But they try not to work the horse too hard.

Perhaps that's why she's earned the nickname la consentida, or the spoiled one.

♪ [Jose speaks Spanish] Narrator: In this vat, the juice and fibers sit and ferment for the next 10 to 12 days.

♪ Finally, this soupy liquid is fed into a copper pot for distillation.

♪ [Jose speaks Spanish] Narrator: During this first distillation process, the waste is removed from the liquid.

Then it's distilled again to purify it and help burn off some of the alcohol.

[Porfirio speaks Spanish] Narrator: At last, the mezcal is done.

But if you're making mezcal reposado, or rested mezcal, it's aged in oak barrels to help enhance its color and flavor.

[Jose speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: While the making of mezcal can't be rushed, the team is always looking for modern twists on this ancient process.

[Porfirio speaks Spanish] [Jose speaks Spanish] Narrator: Someday, Porfirio hopes to pass down this business to the next generation, but for now, he'll work with his team to keep making a drink he loves.

[Porfirio speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Hand-woven rugs.

They've decorated people's homes since the days of the ancient Egyptians.

But they can also be stunning works of art, with stories, culture, and spirituality stitched into their very fabric... especially here in Oaxaca.

Man: I am Gabriel Mendoza.

I am a weaver from Oaxaca, Mexico.

Narrator: Gabriel is a descendant of the Zapotec, who built one of the first civilizations in ancient Mexico.

They have been weaving in this area for more than 2,000 years.

Gabriel: Oaxaca has always had weaving.

The backstrap loom has always been used even since pre-Hispanic times to make clothing.

And then after that, when the Spaniards came, they came with other kinds of machines, like the loom we use now, which is a pedal loom.

Narrator: Gabriel himself started weaving at 11 years old--following in the footsteps of his late father, a world-class weaver.

Gabriel: My father always told me that if I ever did something, that I should do my own thing.

And that is kind of, I take it by heart.

Try to do my own thing means don't copy him or just make it, yes, get inspired by him, but not him, because that was his work, that was his life.

♪ Narrator: Today, Gabriel's working on a handmade blanket for a customer.

Like his Zapotec ancestors, he always starts with home-grown dyes from plants and insects.

In this case, he'll create a dye from the cochineal, an insect that feeds on the nopal cactus.

[Scraping] Gabriel: We're breaking down the cochineal and its exoskeleton to get the powder inside it, which is what gives the color.

♪ Narrator: Then he mixes the powder from the cochineal with alum and adds lemon juice to help enhance its natural red color.

Gabriel: And so, the more lemon you put in, it goes red and redder, and redder, redder.

Narrator: Finally, the mixture goes into hot water, where it produces a soup of brightly colored red dye.

♪ Then Gabriel wrings out a piece of silk that's been soaking in cool water overnight.

Gabriel: So, once it goes into the dye, it's hot, so, it will give a shock.

♪ We're going to let it sit here for a few minutes before the dye penetrates the fibers.

Narrator: When the silk has fully absorbed the dye, Gabriel can start working with it.

So, this is the finished silk colored with cochineal, washed, and it's put on bobbins to be ready to be woven.

And now we can put it through the loom and start weaving it.

♪ Narrator: Once he starts weaving, it can take from a month to 6 months or more to finish a single blanket.

♪ Gabriel: Basically, the timing is based on the size.

♪ I think time is precious and it doesn't come back, so, you have to put the hours into it, but in the end, you make something beautiful with those hours.

♪ Narrator: Along the way, Gabriel always needs to leave time to correct his work.

Gabriel: If we make a mistake, we have to unweave what we did and then weave it again.

It happens very often.

It doesn't matter how much experience you have.

♪ Narrator: With each design, Gabriel tries to find the right blend of classic technique and personal inspiration.

Gabriel: For me, it's an inherited thing, an inherited trade, an inherited concept, that I continue doing.

But the richness of it and the results of it are unique.

Narrator: Someday, Gabriel hopes to pass this weaving legacy on, the way his father did for him.

Gabriel: It would be great if my daughter followed my footsteps, because I think every person has their own imagination, their own inspiration, and so, she probably can put her own thing into it, you know, and that would be wonderful just to see her grow up and appreciate what has been a family inheritance.

♪ Narrator: Mexico City-- the oldest capital city in the Americas-- was built on a massive lake... ♪ with dirt poured in to cover its watery foundation.

Today, most of that lakewater is gone... ♪ but traces of the city's aquatic history remain... here in Xochimilco.

♪ Woman: Xochimilco is like watching history and you can actually see what Mexico City used to look like.

♪ Narrator: Xochimilco is a watery outpost just a short distance from downtown Mexico City.

♪ It's sometimes known as "Little Venice"-- with a series of canals winding through man-made islands called chinampas.

Woman: Chinampa, it's a word that comes from "nahuatl chinamitl," and it means surrounded by roots.

♪ Narrator: These chinampas were developed by the Aztecs back in the 14th century.

♪ While only a handful are left, one nonprofit group is trying to nurture these chinampas back to life.

They're teaching farmers how to grow sustainable crops here... and sharing ideas for how to use their harvest to create delicious meals.

I'm Dani Moreno.

I'm an executive chef in Mexico City.

Narrator: Today, Dani and Joy gather vegetables here in Xochimilco to make a homegrown dish-- chicken barbacoa and beet salad with handmade tortillas.

Wiggle, and pull... and it's pink and beautiful.

I think that what drives me the most is the ingredients.

I like this challenge of not knowing what you're going to have, not being able to say, "I want to do this dish."

It's the other way around.

Like, I have these ingredients, so, what can I make out of it?

♪ Narrator: Dani starts by making a salsa with a molcajete... a common Mexican tool cut from volcanic stone, which helps retain the flavors.

Dani: So, when using a molcajete, what you want to start doing is adding the hardest ingredients.

So, we're going to start with the onion, because it's going to be the one that's going to take longer to blend.

And then we're going to do the chile, and then at the end we're going to do the tomatoes because they are the softest.

♪ Narrator: Without electricity, every step of the process is done by hand.

♪ Next, she makes handmade tortillas from Mexican corn, treated with limestone.

♪ Dani: So, it doesn't come from flour as most people believe.

♪ And it's an ancient process that has been around for almost 5,000 years.

♪ Narrator: One of Dani's challenges is working on this old-fashioned stovetop.

Dani: You have to be more present in your cooking because you are depending on fire, how it behaves and how much you want of it and how much you don't.

So, that's why I love it.

♪ Joy: How am I doing?

Dani: Yes.

Narrator: Next, she enlists Joy to help pull chicken for the barbacoa sauce.

♪ Finally, it's time to assemble the salad itself.

The star will be the beetroots.

♪ Dani: I like to call it the spring salad because it's this season for beetroots and all these beautiful colors, as you see.

I don't like to use anything from outside in terms of vegetables.

Yeah, it's whatever we have on here, it's make it into the salad.

♪ Narrator: After they make the dressing... the salad is ready.

Dani: We want it to look big and colorful and oily.

There we go.

Narrator: Like everyone who harvests food here, Dani and Joy serve from the heart.

Dani: I love what I do.

I think it's a great opportunity.

Who else in Earth is cooking in a chinampa with only fire, no water, no gas, no electricity, and trying to showcase vegetables in a way that you can understand the flavor of each one of them.

♪ Narrator: Glass.

It's long been prized for its unique mix of beauty and utility.

And in the right hands, it can be shaped into stunning pieces of art-- especially when its glittering surface is enhanced by engraving.

[Speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Pepita is a type of glass engraving where decorative patterns are made through small, seed-like cuts.

[Man speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: The history of glass engraving goes back to Venice, the European glass-making capital, in the early 1500s.

Spanish glass makers learned this delicate craft and brought it to Mexico's first glass factory in 1542.

[Man speaks Spanish] Narrator: Pepita, Mexican glass engraving, has been passed down from one generation to the next ever since.

♪ [Man speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Now Jose is teaching everything he knows to several apprentices-- including his son Carlos.

[Carlos speaks Spanish] [Jose speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: That high standard drives Jose with every piece he creates.

[Jose speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: The result is masterpieces etched in glass... which he hopes will be admired long after he's gone.

[Carlos speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: Silver has long been one of the world's most sought-after prizes-- a symbol of status and luxury.

♪ For centuries, silver was Mexico's number-one export.

It even became a form of currency-- both here and abroad.

♪ Today, Mexico still mines more silver than anywhere in the world.

But for local artisans, silver is more than just a precious metal.

It's the raw material for some dazzling works of art.

I'm Barbara Islas.

I'm a silver maker from Mexico City.

[Torch blowing] [Machine whirring] Narrator: Barbara runs El Recreo Silverware, a Mexico City workshop that designs and creates silver-based products.

It was founded by her grandfather in 1944 and quickly built a reputation for its high-quality work.

[Speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: The first step, when making a new piece, is melting down the silver itself.

♪ [Man speaks Spanish] [Torch blowing] Narrator: As it softens, the silver has to be moved around to keep it from burning.

[Man speaks Spanish] ♪ Narrator: After the molded silver hardens, it's fed through a machine to help flatten it out.

♪ Then the metal is cut into shape.

Today, they are going to make a tree of life, a traditional Mexican fertility symbol.

A base is added, as well as any ornaments or decorations.

♪ Once the tree is fully formed, it has to be cleaned.

[Man speaks Spanish] [Whirring] Narrator: The whole process is seamless... as many of the workers here trace their history back to the early days of the workshop.

[Barbara speaks Spanish] Narrator: The finished product reflects that knowledge, as well as a deep passion for the craft of silversmithing.

Barbara: I like work with silver because silver is a very noble metal.

You always recover it; you never lose nothing at all.

And also because we create beautiful pieces.

Beautiful pieces that travel around the world.

When people come and buy the stuff here, make us feel proud.

♪ Narrator: As Mexico has evolved over time, so, too, have its artists.

♪ Their sense of place and commitment to quality has led them to make things with a rich blend of tradition and innovation... [Clink] ♪ and, of course, with love.

♪ ♪