This museum houses a magnificent collection of ceramic works. Collectors and connoisseurs of pottery will love it, but so will casual students of Mexican popular culture and the arts. This could be one of the great museums of Mexico, but I would change a few things to make it perfect. Every year a national competition is held in Tlaquepaque among ceramists from across Mexico. Prizes are awarded in seven categories and a best of show among these. (Tip: The competition is held every June, which is a good time for visiting Tlaquepaque.) The president of Mexico even comes to town to present the awards. After the competition, many of the winning pieces become part the museum's collection. The virtuosity manifested in some of them will take your breath away. It would be wonderful if they were organized by category, with better explanatory text. But for now, the best thing you can do is cajole someone into showing you around and explaining the pieces on display. The staff is actually quite knowledgeable, and at least one member speaks English. The museum occupies a third of a large complex that in colonial times was a large religious community. It's now called Centro Cultural El Refugio, and it's worth ambling through after you've seen the museum's collection.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Mexico 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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