Mexican Talavera Hand
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 90 MEXICAN 4X4 TILES TALAVERA CLAY Hand Made C228 $44.99 Time Remaining: 29d 12h 53m Buy It Now for only: $44.99 |
 12 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Hand made 4 x 4 C189 $5.39 Time Remaining: 17h 17m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 25 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made 498 $12.49 Time Remaining: 17d 8h 10m Buy It Now for only: $12.49 |
 W124 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Hand Made 4 $3.83 Time Remaining: 1d 7h 24m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 202 16 Mexican Tiles Lot Ceramic Clay Talavera Hand made set of tiles $8.00 Time Remaining: 11d 16h 5m Buy It Now for only: $8.00 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C140 $5.99 Time Remaining: 11d 11h 28m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 W160 16 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Hand Crafted 4 $7.19 Time Remaining: 1d 16h 36m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C163 $5.99 Time Remaining: 11d 11h 42m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 W157 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles 4x4 Hand Made Clay $3.83 Time Remaining: 1d 20h 6m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 434 $7.99 Time Remaining: 19d 8h 27m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 435 $7.99 Time Remaining: 19d 21h 26m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made 430 $3.83 Time Remaining: 1d 20h 58m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 80 16 Mexican Tiles Ceramic Clay Talavera Hand made $8.00 Time Remaining: 3d 10h 6m Buy It Now for only: $8.00 |
 W177 16 Mexican Talavera Tiles Clay Hand made 4x4 $7.19 Time Remaining: 2d 4h 54m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 437 $7.99 Time Remaining: 22d 22m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 239 16 Mexican Tiles Ceramic Clay Talavera Hand made $8.00 Time Remaining: 9d 18h 49m Buy It Now for only: $8.00 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 406 $7.19 Time Remaining: 2d 9h 38m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C033 $5.99 Time Remaining: 14d 9h 14m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made M05 $7.99 Time Remaining: 15d 11h 42m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 W179 16 Mexican Talavera Tiles Clay Hand made 4x4 $7.19 Time Remaining: 2d 12h 13m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 406 $7.99 Time Remaining: 25d 12h 48m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 W153 16 Mexican Clay Talavera Tiles 4 Hand Crafted $7.19 Time Remaining: 2d 18h 30m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C071 $5.99 Time Remaining: 24d 14h Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 W118 16 Mexican Talavera Tiles Clay Hand made 4x4 $7.99 Time Remaining: 6d 17h 35m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 485 $7.19 Time Remaining: 2d 19h 33m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 420 $7.99 Time Remaining: 9d 10h 16m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 416 $7.89 Time Remaining: 3d 16h 53m Buy It Now for only: $8.75 |
 W121 16 Mexican Talavera Tiles Hand made Mosaic 4x4 $7.99 Time Remaining: 6d 17h 48m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 Mexican Talavera Hand Painted Decorative Water Res Tile $6.95 Time Remaining: 17d 12h 15m Buy It Now for only: $6.95 |
 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made 473 $3.83 Time Remaining: 3d 23h 59m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 250 16 Mexican Tiles Ceramic Clay Talavera Hand made $8.00 Time Remaining: 9d 18h 37m Buy It Now for only: $8.00 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 403 $7.99 Time Remaining: 24d 19h 23m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 120 TILES TALAVERA Mexican 2x2 Ceramic Hand Made 440 $44.40 Time Remaining: 4d 1h 27m Buy It Now for only: $48.90 |
 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made 429 $4.33 Time Remaining: 28d 14h 29m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 407 $7.19 Time Remaining: 4d 9h 8m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C027 $5.99 Time Remaining: 11d 10h 24m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 417 $7.99 Time Remaining: 12h 15m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 50 TILES Ceramic Mexican 2x2 TALAVERA Hand Made 430 $18.50 Time Remaining: 4d 12h 29m Buy It Now for only: $20.50 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C063 $5.99 Time Remaining: 11d 10h 46m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 W152 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles 4x4 Hand Made Clay $3.83 Time Remaining: 4d 14h 22m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 256 16 Mexican Tiles Ceramic Clay Talavera Hand made $8.00 Time Remaining: 27d 12h 40m Buy It Now for only: $8.00 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C117 $5.99 Time Remaining: 11d 10h 3m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 25 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made 401 $11.24 Time Remaining: 4d 19h 12m Buy It Now for only: $12.49 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C185 $5.99 Time Remaining: 11d 11h 43m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 418 $7.19 Time Remaining: 4d 20h 7m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C015 $5.99 Time Remaining: 11d 10h 16m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
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 25 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made 405 $11.24 Time Remaining: 4d 20h 38m Buy It Now for only: $12.49 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C152 $5.99 Time Remaining: 11d 11h 5m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C093 $5.99 Time Remaining: 11d 11h 4m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made 424 $3.83 Time Remaining: 4d 23h 19m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 433 $5.99 Time Remaining: 19d 10h 50m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 2x 2 25 TILES Ceramic Mexican TALAVERA Hand Made 420 $9.00 Time Remaining: 5d 8h 34m Buy It Now for only: $10.00 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 416 $7.99 Time Remaining: 15d 11h 43m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 418 $7.99 Time Remaining: 12h 16m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 25 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made b01 $11.24 Time Remaining: 6d 6h 13m Buy It Now for only: $12.49 |
 90 MEXICAN CERAMIC 4X4 TALAVERA TILES Hand Made C233 $44.99 Time Remaining: 15h 49m Buy It Now for only: $44.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 403 $7.19 Time Remaining: 6d 7h 38m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 W112 Sets of 16 Mexican TALAVERA Tiles Hand Crafted 4 $7.99 Time Remaining: 25d 13h 27m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made M04 $7.99 Time Remaining: 19d 21h 27m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 408 $7.19 Time Remaining: 6d 9h 9m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 16 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made 421 $7.99 Time Remaining: 15d 11h 39m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made 481 $4.33 Time Remaining: 5d 9h 55m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 90 Ceramic Talavera Tiles Hand Made Mexican 4x4 C045 $40.49 Time Remaining: 6d 10h 47m Buy It Now for only: $44.99 |
 16 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made 487 $7.99 Time Remaining: 22d 11m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 90 Ceramic Talavera Tiles Hand Made Mexican Tile A 116 $40.49 Time Remaining: 6d 17h 19m Buy It Now for only: $44.99 |
 W151 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Hand made 4 x 4 $4.33 Time Remaining: 17d 16h 13m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 W159 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Hand Crafted 4 $4.33 Time Remaining: 24d 21h 10m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 120 TILES Ceramic Mexican 2x2 TALAVERA Hand Made 440 $44.40 Time Remaining: 6d 18h Buy It Now for only: $48.90 |
 9 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Tiles Hand Made 415 $4.33 Time Remaining: 12h 7m Buy It Now for only: $4.33 |
 W118 16 Mexican Talavera Tiles Clay Hand made 4x4 $7.19 Time Remaining: 6d 19h 33m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 12 TILES Ceramic MEXICAN Talavera Hand Made C142 $5.99 Time Remaining: 11d 11h 30m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 254 16 Mexican Tiles Ceramic Clay Talavera Hand made $8.00 Time Remaining: 9d 18h 30m Buy It Now for only: $8.00 |
 W178 16 Mexican Talavera Tiles Clay Hand made 4x4 $7.19 Time Remaining: 6d 23h 50m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 12 Mexican Talavera Tiles Ceramic Hand made 4 x 4 C189 $5.99 Time Remaining: 21d 16h 32m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
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Cow Creamer - Hand Painted in Mexico, Black & White Pattern - From Casa Cordova Imports
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DescriptionThis is a Cream or Milk dispenser in the shape of a cow hand painted in a black & white pattern. Since each one is individually painted, exact patterns will vary. |
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Black and White Butter Dish
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DescriptionCombining functionality with authentic Mexican charm, this black and white butter dish is a great addition to any kitchen. We love using it to keep butter both fresh and soft on the kitchen counter. Also looks great on the breakfast table! The black and white floral pattern is modern yet sophisticated, with lots of personality... |
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Salt Shakers Ceramic Talavera Style Guerrero (Hand Painted) MEXICO FOLK-ART
Sale Price: $49.99 |
DescriptionUnique Fish Salt and Pepper shaker with a beautiful finish. Hand painted from the State of Guerrero Mexico. |
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Mexican Tile - 4x4 Palacio Sencillo Talavera
Sale Price: $1.65 |
DescriptionThe Palacio Sencillo talavera tile can be a perfect complement to decorate a bathroom shower wall, a kitchen backsplash, a fireplace, a stairway, or any other project you have in mind. Each of our Mexican talavera tile is unique and handcrafted... |
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Sunny Sun Mexican Talavera Ceramic - MC*
List Price: |
DescriptionThis charming Sunny ceramic sun will add beauty and charm to any home or garden. Only available in our multi-color style. Please note that our multi-color styles each come in a different color combination... |
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Talavera Light Switch Plate Cover - Single Flip Switch, Assorted Colors
Sale Price: $7.75 |
DescriptionBrighten up any room by replacing your existing switch plate cover with one of these hand painted in the traditional Talavera style in Mexico. The plate cover is designed for a light switch cover with a single flip switch... |
A Tale of Two Hurricane Cities
Copyright (c) 2007 Karen Talavera
December 1, 2007 marks the end of another hurricane season in south Florida, and for the second year in a row we are blessed with a clean getaway. For now, we can exhale.
Yet more than two years after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, it's anything but easy in the Big Easy.
In August this year I took a vacation to Canc?Mexico. The Yucatan peninsula is a locale I adore and have visited extensively before. But having lived in Florida for the past three years and having been through three hurricanes during that time, I had more than a fleeting sense of trepidation over the state in which I'd find my beloved Mexican Caribbean jewel. Recalling the damage an unexpectedly fierce hurricane Wilma did to south Florida in just a few hours on a late October 2005 day after ravaging Canc?or four times as long, I was prepared to see evidence of recovery still in progress. Prepared, at least, to spot more than a few blemishes on the face of the normally pristine hotel zone, and certainly prepared to see the aftereffects of the storm in the outlying, natural environment.
My expectations couldn't have been more off. Judging by the looks of things in Canc?you'd never know there was a Hurricane Wilma which came on shore less than two years ago as a category four storm with winds exceeding 150 miles an hour. Between October 20 and 24, 2005 Wilma dumped over five feet of rain on Canc?double or triple the amount that Hurricane Katrina unleashed on New Orleans only seven weeks earlier. While both storms peaked as category five hurricanes while over water, Wilma came ashore with greater force, and stayed much longer, than Katrina when it made landfall. Where Katrina hit New Orleans, it was a weak category three, if not a category two. Yet we've all seen the images of what happened in New Orleans and environs.
How then, do you account for the drastic differences in both the level of devastation and recovery between the two cities, each hit by major hurricanes within the same sixty days? In digging for the answers to this question, there is much to be gleaned about the economic and political agendas of two North American neighbors, Mexico and the United States, and a critical lesson for Americans to learn as well.
As cities New Orleans and Canc?ave little in common. The former is a historically-quaint, centuries-old settlement that has grown large in a sinking land bowl flanked by the mighty Mississippi river to the south and Lake Pontchartrain to the north; the latter, a merely forty-year, newly developed world-class vacation destination built primarily on a narrow eight mile strip of land bordered by a natural lagoon to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east. What they share other than their sea-level elevation is that they're both hemmed in by water. Furthermore, both cities have a history of hurricanes, know they are situated in hurricane zones, and know the risks. But of the two only only Canc?as chosen to consciously act on that knowledge, both preventatively and retroactively.
One could argue Canc?as had a decided advantage over a place like New Orleans all along. Its development is recent enough to have benefitted from hurricane-resistant technology and forethought, and clearly it has done so. Yet since before Canc?as officially established as a city in 1972, the pummeling New Orleans received by Hurricane Betsy in 1965 served as an alarming wake-up call. Arguably, New Orleans had forty years to fortify itself against a repeat performance, and countless government mandates and funds with which to work, yet the system of dikes and levees surrounding the city - its primary defense against flooding during a major storm - failed miserably.
With two years of Hurricane Katrina post-mortem under our belts, most Americans now understand the resulting devastation of New Orleans was a man-made rather than natural disaster. After 1965, the US Congress assigned the Army Corps of Engineers to protect the city from a "100-year storm". The resulting planning and work done by the Corps was riddled with engineering errors and utterly sub-standard for protection from anything more than a moderate-strength hurricane. The Corps' estimation of a 100-year event fell short of a category four hurricane, even though Betsy had been exactly that and was originally predicted to arrive even stronger.
Moreover, protecting the city from a major storm was never anyone's top priority. Tales of local government corruption, funds misappropriation, and even failed local ballot propositions are legendary. And with every passing decade, as the city was spared further hurricanes, the people became more complacent and their sense of denial grew. Denial, as they now know, will no more fortify levees or prevent flooding than wishful thinking. Hurricane survival requires preparation, and preparation means intentional efforts are made in building construction, land use, water management, and population education.
More telling than the difference in the collective mindsets of Canc?nd New Orleans is their respective recovery efforts. While most major hotel/resort structures in Canc?ere already designed to withstand major hurricane damage (and those in New Orleans were not) the greater area of concern to Canc?as not loss or damage to structures, but to the beach, the primary tourist draw on which its economy depends. After Hurricane Wilma washed away eight miles of Canc? beautiful beach, the Mexican government paid $24 million to a Belgian firm to vacuum up offshore sand roughly 20 miles off the coast and pump it back to resort-front beaches. The result? Canc? beach front is now roughly twice as wide as it was before the storm. Imagine, then, if New Orleans had received the type of immediate, hands-on, no-holds-barred infusion of support that the Mexican government showered upon just Canc? beaches alone.
Roughly $2.3 billion in insurance claims in Cancun were filed in the aftermath of Wilma, but many hotel and resort owners took the opportunity to go upgrade the quality of their rebuilt properties by adding condos, thereby expanding their mix of accommodations while planning for future growth. Many single family homes in Mexico are also built quite differently than in the US - with metal-reinforced concrete rather than wood frames - and survived Wilma with minimal or no damage.
By contrast, stories of under-or inadequately insured homes and properties in New Orleans are legendary. Many homeowners did not carry flood insurance, necessary when water damage occurs from rising rather than falling water. (Hurricane insurance only covers wind damage). Adding insult to injury, many of the most seriously damaged neighborhoods in New Orleans were occupied by either the poorest or oldest of the city's population. Both groups are notorious for having not been insured at all, and as a result have nothing to go back to. At last count, only about 52% of New Orleans' pre-Katrina population of 450,000 has returned. Neighborhoods such as the Lower Ninth Ward and parts of New Orleans East are still nearly vacant.
So, what insights does this comparison yield? A few become obvious:
1. Money first, people second. Governments are most concerned with protecting their economic interests,and the US is no exception. Whether disaster is natural or man-made, when government protects its cash cows or wealthiest citizens, it does so in the name of protecting its own economic health. The poor, uneducated, uninformed, or underprivileged often find themselves on their own.
2. Do not expect your government to save you when disaster strikes. It may provide aid but its resources are limited and it simply cannot save everyone. If you live in a disaster-susceptible area, don't expect a bail-out. Even if you don't live in a high-risk area, self-reliance is a virtue you CAN afford and won't regret having when you need it.
3. Our government is what we make it. The citizens of New Orleans elected their state and local officials. They had numerous opportunities to vote on how to spend funds and sadly, the majority chose not to spend resources on hurricane prevention and flood protection. "We reap what we sow" may sound trite, but it's true.
All too often it seems dire circumstances are required for behavioral change. As I have learned firsthand from living in Florida, there are two sides to every coin. Paradise? Certainly, but at a price, one I and millions of south Floridians are now painfully aware of and willing to pay, as I suspect are the nearly one million full-time inhabitants of Cancun. Yet we're lucky, Florida and Cancun reap enough tourism riches to qualify for government rescue. If only the citizens of New Orleans had been so fortunate, and so enlightened.
About the Author
Karen Talavera is a keen observer, critical thinker and aspiring book author with a passion for writing, learning and teaching. She lives in South Florida and sounds off frequently on her blog of the same name, Sound Off. Read more of Karen's writing at http://worldwidesoundoff.blogspot.com .