Sophisticated San Cristobal de Las Casas: A Changing Scene

It’s different this year in San Cristobal de Las Casas. There are more upscale shops and sophisticated clothing designs using indigenous textiles. Just meandering the three andadors — cobblestone walking streets here — I see remarkable differences.

Sophisticated handwoven pillow covers at Sna Jolobil Cooperative

There are more visitors coming who are interested in textiles and the Maya culture. There is a greater influence from designers and the styles are definitely geared to a more upscale buyer. Some of the jackets and tops encorporate small elements of the Maya counting system but are magnified into stunning graphic designs.

Ex Convent Santo Domingo, now Museo Mundo Maya

It seems as if there is a new energy in San Cristobal. Yes, there are still young European back-packers who pass through on their way from Guatemala to Mexico, populating the busy new pox (posh) bars after 6 p.m.

Frogs, feathered serpents and diamonds representing the center of the universe

However, there is innovation in the air, the kind I haven’t seen in the five years I’ve been bringing small groups of textile travelers here.

Perhaps this is because young weaver and designer Alberto Lopez Gomez from Magdalenas Aldama made a big buzz this year at New York Fashion Week. We are going to his cooperative this Saturday morning.

Today we are off to the traditional weekly market in Tenejapa.

Intricate embroidery work on a huipil of birds and flowers

Sheri Brautigam and I have committed to repeating this popular and always sold-out Chiapas Textile Study Tour in 2021. Our dates are February 23 to March 3. Send us a Registration Form if you are interested in participating. The itinerary will be mostly the same. Only the dates will change.

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