On our first tour day, we make our way to Ometepec, Guerrero, where we spend the first night on the road after traveling north on MEX 200, the coastal highway to Acapulco and beyond. Early the next morning, after breakfast, we travel about a hour northeast to the tiny village of Zacoalpan where we meet Jesus Ignacio and his family.
Ignacio was educated as an engineer and graduated with a four-year college degree but could not find work without moving far away from his family, something he didn’t want to do.
So, he picked up his smart phone, started an Instagram page, and that’s how I found him four years ago. Visiting him, his mother Porfiria, and his aunts is a highlight of our tour. They are humble, and are one of two families in the village who still grow their own cotton. They weave glorious cloth.
The women pick, clean, beat, hand-spin, and weave this native cotton. Ignacio has researched ancient designs, collected pieces of huipiles that have survived over the last fifty years, and the family has introduced them into their iconography. While it is possible to purchase directly from him from the IG page, seeing the garments in person, as well as hearing the weaving stories in the family, makes this a special visit.
Let us know if you want to come with us in 2025. We will be scheduling this tour again soon. Send us an email to express your interest.
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