Tenejapa, Chiapas is a regional center in the highlands of Chiapas about an hour- and-a-half beyond San Cristobal de las Casas. It’s a regional administrative center, about midway between the city and the remote village of Cancuc, past Romerillo. Most roads splay out from San Cristobal like spikes on a wheel hub, dead-ending down a canyon or mountain top at a remote village where traditional weavers create stunning cloth.
Tenejapa supplementary weft on cotton warp, with handmade doll
There are two reasons to go to Tenejapa.
Tenejapa market scene, the perfect village tianguis
First is the Thursday market that covers the length of four to six blocks (depending on the season) where everything needed to maintain a household is sold, including fresh roasted and ground coffee cultivated from bushes on nearby hillsides.
Rich, roasted, fresh ground coffee in the market, locally grown
This includes fresh dried beans, ground and whole chili peppers, ribbons and lace for sewing, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and an occasional textile find.
See highlights from 2017 Chiapas Textile Study Tour.
We will offer this Study Tour again, from February 13-22, 2018. Contact me if you are interested in itinerary and price. Taking a wait list!
Beautiful handwoven bag, a market find, random delights
Most of the textiles on the street are woven for local consumption. So, fabric and the materials to make it reflects the current fashion tastes of traditional ladies who weave to adorn themselves and their neighbors. Cotton takes longer to dry, so cotton thread has been replaced by synthetic. Now, the shinier the better.
Chili peppers, whole or ground, take your pick
We see this throughout the villages in the Chiapas Highlands where glittery threads are incorporated into the weft and warp, and polyester gives the textile a sheen that is now preferred.
Inspect carefully. Bright colors can be synthetics, as are these. Glorious, nevertheless.
Where to find the traditional textiles of five, ten, twenty years ago? Sometimes, you can find them hanging from ropes strung from wall to wall inside the shops along the market avenue. Sometimes, they are folded under a stack of the more contemporary pieces that Tenejapa fashionistas like.
Corn for sale, displayed in traditional handwoven ixtle market bag
The second, and perhaps more important reason to visit Tenejapa is to spend time in the cooperative operated by Maria Meza Giron. The building is next to the church, across from the zocalo and municipal building.
Sheri Brautigam, author and our textile tour resource, chats with Maria Meza
Maria and her son Pedro Meza, are co-founders of Sna Jolobil textile cooperative with anthropologist/friend/guide Walter “Chip” Morris. We bumped into him there that day as we were deep into textile heaven.
An amazing ceremonial cloth, hand-woven, snatched up by Kathleen
These textiles — huipils, ponchos, purses, blankets, rugs, shirts, belts, woven ixtle bags, skirts and ceremonial garb — are the finest examples with the most traditional quality of weaving found in Tenejapa.
What will this become? Textile in progress on back strap loom.
Some pieces are dense with wool supplementary weft woven onto a one hundred percent cotton warp. All created on the back strap loom. Garments are always as wide as the loom they are woven on.
Barbara looks at fine detail work on this Tenejapa sash
It was hard to choose. Hard to focus. Hard to pull away and say goodbye when the time came. The examples available for sale would sell for twice the price in San Cristobal de las Casas in finer galleries. It was well worth the trip for this, and for the experience of mingling among the people.
Tenejapa woman shopping for a comal — clay griddle
Just a note: Not many visitors come here. We were the only foreigners walking through the market. People are resistant to having their pictures taken. Photographs of fruits and veggies are okay. I always asked if I could take a photo (the people, not the vegetables). Most said no. Once, I shot from the hip and felt guilty.
Handwoven bags on display stand for sale.
Our anthropologist guide advised us to never photograph inside a village church. We didn’t. I did not shoot from the hip there. I attended to watching where I stepped. Lit candles blazed on the floor in front of altars to saints. As a consequence, you will see lots of textiles, tomatoes, oranges, and shoes.
Zocalo is also the taxi station, constant round trips to San Cristobal
The people who travel with me tend to be those with a deep appreciation for Mexicans and their creativity. Folk art or popular art in Mexico is made one piece at a time, one thread at a time. By coming here, we gain an understanding for craftsmanship that is passed down from mother to daughter, father to son.
Our guide explains Maya-Catholic Church traditions and what we will see inside
There is no magical way of being appreciative, warm and gracious. The feelings between visitor and host are reciprocal. We value the inspiration, hard work and dedication to keeping hand-made craft alive. Those who make and sell value our support and appreciation for what they do. It’s a bonus if we buy.
Being a locavore isn’t trendy, it’s a way of life
But shopping isn’t everything and that’s not why we are here. We are here because creative people are tucked in every corner and behind every hillock, using their open hearts and strong hands to bring color and joy into the world.
Beautiful, intricate Tenejapa huipil, wool weft for the design on cotton
We will offer this Study Tour again, from February 13-22, 2018. Contact me if you are interested with itinerary and price.
Mexico City Architecture: Luis Barragan House Photo Essay
True Confession: In all the years I’ve been visiting Mexico City, I never made it to the Casa Luis Barragan in Colonia Condesa. One of the benefits of staying in this neighborhood is to make a pilgrimage to the home where this disciple of Corbusier lived. You MUST make a reservation in advance to visit. Only small groups go through the house and studio with a guide.
Textured and adjoining smooth walls add drama
Luis Barragan, winner of the Pritzker Prize, is one of Mexico’s most famed architects who influenced an entire generation of architects, including Ricardo Legorretta, has volumes written about him. His work is documented with great photography. I hope you read more.
What fascinates me is how he uses space — sometimes spare, sometimes cluttered, always calculated. His brilliant and punctuated use of color is incorporated into serene, cloistered rooms. I am surprised to move from small, intimate spaces into large living areas with high ceilings, walls, partitions, bringing the outdoors into the interior. There are design lessons to be learned here for how to live with a few, very meaningful objects.
Center piece. Lots of tables and niches and nooks to settle into throughout the house.
Twenty foot ceilings make small rooms larger.
Photo of Barragan, exceptionally tall, posing on floating staircase
The Miguelito Chair, designed by Barragan
Floating staircase leads to small study on second floor from library
Intimate, small library, cozy, comfortable
Painting by friend Mathias Goeritz is like a mirror
Color, louvered doors accentuates space transition
Rooftop terrace at Casa Luis Barragan
Stunning hot pink wall is backdrop to blooming vines
Mexican flowering vine Copa de Oro
Tonala, Guadalajara hand-blown glass globes reflect in every room
Luscious color in entry way, detail
One small lamp illuminates Barragan’s private dining room
Barragan, a very private man, loved his solitude. His small, dark, private dining room is like a cloister. Extremely tall, very religious, he designed spaces with small door frames and low ceilings, requiring him to bend as if in prayer, as he moved through his home and studio.
Reflection from inside to out, bringing the spaces together.
Collection of old ceramic mezcal jars are focal point of small patio
Patios have small water features, either fountains or large lava rock or ceramic bowls to collect water, that reflects nature.
Hot pink door opens to verdant green space.
My sister Barbara in the living room through the glass.
Warm colors of studio — he painted skylights and windows yellow
Outside a neighbor’s house, a whimsical sculpture
I love these globes. You can buy them in patio shops throughout the USA.
Sister Barbara in silhouette. Large windows bring green to interior.
Studio space is used as a gallery for featured shows now.
Where we are staying: In a penthouse apartment owned by Nai, with a terrace overlooking the treetops and rooftops of this walkable neighborhood. I highly recommend this location. See it on Air BnB.
We are getting around using UBER. Most rides are under $4 USD. Safe, on-time, dependable, secure.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Mexico City, Photography, Travel & Tourism
Tagged architecture, casa, house, Luis Barragan, Mexico City, photographs, studio