Featured Artisan

The Jewelry of Mauricio and Carla Torres Morón – Lima, Peru

Peru is a country of contradictions. Three distinct geographic regions make up this magical country; the lowland coastal region where the capital Lima lies, the Amazonian forest surrounding the headwaters of the mighty river, and the high sierras of the Andes where the mystical city Machu Pichu still opens to the sky. Beautiful colonial architecture; remnants of the Spanish occupation, still adorn the major cites, but the low mud brick huts of the towns and villages are where most people reside. The poverty level of Peru is over 55% of the population. Since jobs are scarce, many Peruvians take it upon themselves to “create jobs”. Every time you step off a bus on onto the streets you’ll find the none-to-shy street vendors plying their trade and selling anything from fly swatters to handcrafts.

Mauricio Torres was one of them, selling handcrafted silver and stone jewelry to tourists on the streets of Ica. There he met his future wife, Carla Morón, and the two continued to ply their trade. Their dreams were the stuff of all young people everywhere; to make good craft and travel and see the world. Along came Taré, their first daughter, and their dreams persisted, but selling jewelry on the streets was not enough. For two weeks every month, Mauricio worked in the salt mines and then for the following two weeks, the little family made and sold their jewelry. Their luck was about to change.

Lisa Borland, a young American woman, was traveling with a friend around the world before settling down to a career. While visiting Ica, a small town on the coast of Peru, they ran into Mauricio, Carla and Taré. A conversation started, some jewelry purchased, and a new friendship was formed. After Lisa returned to the States, she kept in contact with the family, sending them money here and there to help them with their medical bills or clothes for their little girl. On August 15, 2007, their friendship was put to the test when an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit the central coast of Peru. The towns of Pisco and Ica were the most affected. A total of 58,000 homes were destroyed and over 500 people killed. When Lisa found out, she tried to contact the Torres family. She found them alive but they had lost everything; their home, belongings, and all of their jeweler’s tools. Lisa rallied and through the generosity of her company and her sister’s company in Boston raised sufficient funds to help the Torres family move to Lima, get medical help, and buy new jewelry supplies and tools.

Through Lisa’s fund raiser, a co-worker of Lisa’s sister passed on the information about the plight of the Torres family to Mamacuna. Thanks to all of Lisa’s efforts Mamacuna is proud to carry the exquisitely hand formed jewelry in silver, stone, and macramé from this highly talented family. Visit the Jewelry section of www.mamacuna.com to see the Torres jewelry where each piece is a one-of-a-kind item.

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