Nativity favorites

I started collecting Nativity sets on our trips from the very beginning. They are fun to look for and I try to find ones that are unique and represent the area we are in. I have around 35 now. I sometimes bring them home for the girls and friends. I love looking at them and remembering why I chose each one. Here are some of my favorites.

This is the shelf that houses the sets. They stay out all year. The one below is from Argentina. If you look closely you can see the man holding his cup of Mate. All people in the southern countries drink this "herbal tea". Everyone has one in their hands at all times. They have a little silver spoon in them to stir with. The cup is usually leather. They expect you to drink from their cup when offered.
Below are several. The tall ones in the back are from the Dominican Republic, they do not have faces because Dominicans are a mixed race. The colorful ones are from Cuzco Peru. The one in the pretty rock are from Uruguay.

This one is from Lamas Peru. We had an afternoon to kill one day so a taxi driver took us up to his home town in the mountains. The village had been destroyed by an earthquake a year prior and they were trying to rebuild it. Some of the homes (shacks) did not have windows because they were afraid it would let evil spirits in. I love it when the name of the city is on the Nativity set like below.

This one is also from the Dominican Republic. We visited a place where the handicapped make handcrafts for sale. These people were minus arms, hands etc. They were making things out of telephone wires using their teeth and feet sometimes. I asked if they did Nativity sets and they said no but they would. When we returned 4 months later I picked this up. Note the animals.

One night in El Salvador we went to dinner with a bunch of Doctors. I was the only female on this trip. There was a little gift shop next door which I walked to. They had this beautiful hand painted one with leather hinges. I bought it and returned to the restaurant. I showed the men and a couple of them ran to buy one but I had bought the only one.

In Cuenca Peru we were walking down the street and I spied this one in a little shop. In Cuenca they have a famous horn that is only found here. This set has a man with one of those horns. I paid the equivalent of $1.50 for this one.

I love these sets. Hope you enjoy seeing them. I need to get them all labeled and the story recorded behind each one. I will add that to my list of things to do.