We sometimes meet Señor José Porca during our walks around the neighborhood. Sr. Porca is a retired blacksmith whose metal artwork we've shown you before. Several times he has invited us to come by his house to see his most recent work. During a recent visit by Susan and Mike DiGiambattista (Susan's my cousin), we took them to meet Sr. Porca and see his latest creations.

In the picture on the right, Alvaro is showing us some of the elaborate exterior light fixtures and support hardware that the shop is making for a customer. The items had just come back from being galvanized.

The blacksmith shop was founded by Sr. Porca's grandfather back in the days when the business was farm-related. These days, most of their business is for home-related items such as big driveway gates, exterior wall fixtures and decorations, etc.

Sr. Porca, retired and a widower, lives in the stone house to which the shop is attached. His son-in-law, Daniel, and Daniel's nephew, Alvaro, operate the shop now. But Sr. Porca still spends a lot of time there, working on his projects with the tools he's so familiar with.

When Daniel and Alvaro retire, the shop will probably close forever. It's a real pity that their type of craftsmanship is disappearing and there are few, if any, apprentices learning the trade. The next generation of customers will have only mass-produced hardware to choose from.