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Writer's pictureCharlys Trevino

The Artisans of Oaxaca

In villages around Oaxaca city live the artesanos of Oaxaca. Exploring local artisans has always been a focus for me when traveling and Oaxaca did not disappoint! It is a good thing I am living out of a duffle and can't really buy anything I can't carry with me.


Each village has a unique specialty and most families who live in the village produce folk art that has been passed on generation after generation. The pandemic has crippled the artisans in these villages and preserving this folk art has been a priority for organizations not only in Mexico but around the world.


In Teotitlan de Valle you will find the weavers of the famous wool carpets made of beautiful natural dyes. The Bulmaro Perez Mendoza was the family of weavers that I visited. The Bulmaro family is 7th generation weavers in the Valley. Their rugs have been recognized globally. They use natural dyes from plants and minerals to dye their wool carpets. Everyone in the family weaves or spins and dyes the wool.

San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca is known for the crafting of Oaxacan wood carvings called Alebrijes. In this village I visited a family of three sisters who's tradition of wood carving was passed down from their father a master sculpturer. The sculptures are carved out of copal wood a soft wood that is found in the area. It is a painstaking process and pieces can take weeks to complete. The Alebrijes are generally fantastical animals and each artist brings the piece to life by painting representation of their folk tales and culture.

San Bartolo Coyotepec is known for the production of black pottery. This area produces the black clay that results in this beautiful pottery. When the piece is created it generally has a greyish matted look but before the piece is fired it is rubbed with a rigid plastic tool which brings out the sheen. This process was discovered by Dona Rosa a potter back in the 1950s. Barro negro pottery is the most popular pottery in Mexico.

San Antonino is know for the beautifully embroidered blouses. I visited the Sanchez family, two sisters who are incredibly talented and two of the nicest ladies I've had the privilege of meeting during this experience with the Oaxacan artesanos. The detail in the designs are amazing! It was hard to resist buying one of their blouses.


I was lucky enough to meet Linda Hanna, a weaver and an advocate for the Oaxacan textile folk art artisans. Linda wrote a book about all the Oaxacan Textiles and also created an exhibition of these textiles. Linda moved to Oaxaca 28 years ago. Super interesting lady, so grateful she introduced me to the Sanchez sisters!

Santa Tomas Jalieza is known for the backstrap weaving. I visited the Gomez sisters who are very well known for their beautiful work.

I can't express in words how incredibly grateful I am to have experienced all these Oaxacan artisans. Next time you are in Mexico or for that matter anywhere and you feel the need to bargain over the cost of indigenous crafts/folk art, I urge you to consider the work and craftsmanship that goes into these pieces.

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