Our friends in Cuajinicuilapa, a key hub for Afro-Mexican heritage where the Afro-Mexican Museum is located, suffered devastating damage after Hurricane Erick made landfall two weeks ago. We have visited this museum during our Oaxaca Coast Textile Study Tour (another one offered in early December 2025), which many of you have participated in with us.
The museum’s director, Angelica Sorrosa Alvarado, lost her roof, and woodcut-lithography artist Ramiro Paz also lost his. Ramiro is now homeless, and the hurricane damaged the plates he uses to make his beautiful prints. The museum suffered major damage, including broken glass display cases, toppled dioramas, fallen walls, and water leakage.
Donate to help our friends get new roofs and repair the Afro-Mexican Museum!
Torrential rains, flooding, mudslides, and powerful winds along the Pacific Coast spanning Oaxaca and Guerrero wreaked havoc in towns predominantly inhabited by Afro-Mexican people. Many of our coast friends in Puerto Escondido and to the north fled into the higher mountains to seek safety.
We want to help! We want to raise $2,000 USD.
This will fund roof replacement and help repair the museum, restoring displays that provide a visual history of slavery in Mexico and Afro-Mexican contributions to the overall culture.
To donate, send Norma an email. Any amount is welcome and valued. You can send funds with Zelle, PayPal or Venmo. Include the amount of your gift and the payment method. If you would like to purchase a piece of art (see choices below), please indicate your selection by number.
I am working with our dear friend, advocate, and cultural anthropologist Denise Lechner, who works with us on the coast tour. I will send her the funds we collect, and she will ensure Angelica and Ramiro receive them. Denise lives in Puerto Escondido and fled to Pinotepa de Don Luis with her daughter to escape the hurricane impact.
Some history: Brought from Africa to Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico by Portuguese slave traders to work the sugar cane fields, many slaves escaped to the west coast, went into hiding, were assimilated into indigenous Mexican villages, and established isolated communities far from where they could be hunted down. This area from Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca, to Acapulco, Guerrero, became a historical refuge for runaway slaves. Moreover, enslaved Africans in colonial Mexico who worked in the silver mines, sugar plantations, and haciendas sought escape here, too.
Selling Ramiro’s Art — Woodcuts and Lithographs
You can also purchase art that will help Ramiro restore his home. You send me the funds, and Ramiro will mail your piece to the USA fast and securely with DHL or FedEx. If you purchase a piece of art, we will need your mailing address.
#1. Frijoles a la Diabla, 59 cm x 40 cm, $185 + $40 mailing with FedEx or DHL. Several available.
#2. Danza de los Diablos, 20 x 30 cm, $40 + $40 mailing via FedEx or DHL, several available.
#3. Cuaji o El Chirundo, 52.50 cm x 44.50 cm, $80 + $40 mailing via FedEx or DHL. Several available.
#4. Angelitos Negros, 59.50 cm x 40 cm, $95 + $40 mailing via FedEx or DHL. Several available.
#5. Vida Cotidiana, 59.50 cm x 40 cm, $95 + $40 mailing via FedEx or DHL, several available.
#6. Tumbando Caña, 55.50 cm x 37.50 cm, $95 + $40 mailing via FedEx or DHL
All funds go directly to Angelica and Ramiro.
If we raise more than what is needed, we will give to a local organization that is helping people rebuild.
Thank you VERY MUCH from the bottom of our hearts. Whatever you can help with is greatly appreciated!