2008 Rural Tourism Fair: Teotitlan del Valle

Day #3 of the 2008 Rural Tourism Fair featured a walk with the weavers in Teotitlan del Valle. Our meeting point was the community museum, followed by weaver visits and lunch at El Descanso. Think smart, travel slow. Details on the Oaxaca Wikispace
http://oaxaca.wikispaces.com (less) (less)

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• oaxaca
• mexico
• rtf2008
• teotitlan
• teotitlán
• weaver
• laadi
• artesania
• craft

[ronmader]

next week is the big 2008 town festival!

[BnZunni]

Personalmente diría que los tapetes son un ejemplo de arte mestizo. Ovejas, Lana y Telares de Pedal llegaron con los Españoles. Los Zapotecas antes de la Conquista mostraban gran talento en telares de cintura, algodón y el teñido con elementos 100% naturales. Integraron éste conocimiento y diseños a los telares de pedal y la lana, resultando en estos magníficos tapetes. Cada véz que regreso de Oaxaca traigo algunos para mis amigos, que los atesoran enormemente. Excelente video y musica. ♪♪

[BnZunni]

I personally would say the rugs are a beautiful example of "mestizo" art. Sheep, wool and big looms came with the Spanish Conquerors. Zapotecs before the Conquest, were skilled mostly with waist looms, cotton and dying it with all natural materials. They integrated those skills and the designs to these new looms and wool and came with such amazing rugs. Every time I go to Oaxaca, I bring some for my friends here in California, where thery are absolutely treasured. Excelent video and music. ♪♪

[ronmader]

The textiles are beautiful. What a beautiful place to visit!

[pryntel]

Does all this mean that Zapotec textiles aren�t worth collecting? The answer is, once again, No! They are beautiful and well made and no doubt they would be even better made and more beautiful if we left it up to Zapotec weavers to decide what a Zapotec textile is.

[pryntel]

-- it fits our romantic image of the lone craftsman but not the history and pre-history of Zapotec textile production. In short, for at least as long as Teotitlán has been Teotitlán (that is since it was subsumed into the Aztec empire and given the Nahuatl name of "Teotitlán"), the Zapotec textiles made there have most typically been taken to market and bartered with or sold by merchants and long distance traders from below "Brother Rock."

[pryntel]

The stereotypical image of "authentic" Zapotec textile production and marketing that exists in the popular literature (travel accounts, tour guides, other web sites, and guides to purchasing Mexican handicrafts) are inaccurate. These sources suggest that purchasing a Zapotec textile directly from the person who wove it is the most "authentic buying experience." Unfortunately, this notion is a product of our own imagination and not historical reality

[pryntel]

In fact, Chichicapa, a small village hidden away in the mountains between Ocotlan and Tlacolula, has long been a producer of fine woolen yarns, which today are still sold at Sunday market in Tlacolula and at Friday market in Ocotlan. The current practice of purchasing woolen yarn is therefore not a degenerate, inauthentic practice (in the photo to the left, recently washed wool is hung out to dry on a roof top).