Our friend Don José Porca ran the local blacksmith shop until his retirement. The shop is now run by some of his younger relatives but he's stayed busy there with his artistic endeavors. We showed you some of them before. He has created quite a number of religious and literary figures from the same iron and steel that he once used to craft tools, horseshoes, and other items during his blacksmith career. (Links to those pages are listed below.)

His latest project is a traditional stone cruceiro, similar to the one down by Ambroa's church, but with a big difference - his figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary are created from metal rather than from stone. When completed, the metal figures will be mounted on a traditional stone cross sitting atop a large stone foundation, like this one. (He already has the finished stonework.) The figures will, of course, be exposed to the weather, so Señor Porca has crafted them from stainless steel.

His artistic works are done for his own pleasure and are not for sale. We appreciate him allowing us into his home to admire the results of his labors of love.