The sound of hammers and chisels striking stone rings out on most Sundays in the cemetery in the ancient town of Xochiaca, a village swallowed up decades ago by the urban sprawl of Mexico City. It is the sound of the stone carvers of Chimalhuacán — as the borough is known — who have somehow retained the craft tradition passed down for generations _ even after the local source of quarry stone was exhausted. Mexico's stone carvers in other areas long ago turned to mechanical cutters and polishers, but the craftsmen of Chimalhuacán depend on only hammers, mallets and a variety of chisels and gouges. (July 2, July 9, and August 8) (AP video/Gerardo Carrillo)
