Guatemala Textile Study Tour 2025: Cloth and Culture
Registration is now open. A $750 non-refundable deposit will reserve your space. We offered this tour first to those who expressed interest a couple of months ago, and we have filled seven out of fourteen spaces. We hope that if you want to go to Guatemala with us in February 2025, you won’t hesitate to […]
Oaxaca Screenwriting Workshop for Film + TV: We All Have a Story
Arrive Thursday, March 28 and depart Wednesday, April 3, 2024–Semana Santa Experience What makes a good story? And how do we translate that to a movie or television? We might say: That show has a good story line, or I love those characters (or not), or The plot is unbelievable (as in, either amazing or […]
Where is Zacoalpan, Guerrero? Find It on the Oaxaca Coast Textile Tour
The Costa Chica of Oaxaca actually includes the southern part of Guerrero state, stretching from Puerto Escondido north to Acapulco. We don’t go quite as far as Acapulco, but we go deep into Amuzgo territory. The Amuzgo ethnic group encompasses northern Oaxaca and southern Guerrero. As in many parts of the world, political boundaries have […]
Oaxaca Rugs in Philadelphia, Pa.
Omar Chavez Santiago from Galeria Fe y Lola in Oaxaca is traveling with me to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the end of the week to start a series of rug exhibitions, sales and natural dye demonstrations. Events start on Saturday, October 27, 2018. We hope if you live in the region you can stop by. On […]
Photo Essay: Oaxaca Cochineal Dye Workshop in Durham, NC
Yesterday, my Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, godson Omar Chavez Santiago, from Galeria Fe y Lola, taught a cochineal natural dye workshop through INDIO Durham, hosted by owner Wendy Sease. We had a sold-out workshop. Most people don’t know that cochineal is the natural dye that colors lipstick, Campari, yogurt, and wine. Anything labeled carminic acid […]
Day of the Dead 2019 Women’s Writing Retreat: How Memory Inspires Us
Arrive Wednesday, October 30 and leave Monday, November 4, 2019. The retreat can accommodate up to 10 women. We gather for Day of the Dead 2019 in the traditional Zapotec village of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico to write with intention for five nights and four days. Day of the Dead inspires us to revisit our […]
Oaxaca Weaver in Raleigh-Durham, NC, October 17-21, 2018
Omar Chavez Santiago, a young talented weaver from Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, and Galeria Fe y Lola, will be in Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina for a set of talks, cochineal dye demonstrations and textile sales from October 17 to October 21, 2018. Events are open to the public. Please attend and share widely! Thank […]
Oaxaca Cochineal Dye Workshop in Durham, North Carolina
Thanks to Wendy Sease at INDIO Durham, Omar Chavez Santiago is coming back to North Carolina in mid-October for a trunk show and natural cochineal dye workshop. He will also be demonstrating at Meredith College in a textile residency program. Cochineal is the insect that produces carminic acid (think Campari, lipstick, yogurt), that tantalizing RED […]
Leslie’s Regrets Sale: Clothing From Chiapas and Oaxaca
I had this crazy idea of starting an on-line e-commerce website marketplace to sell and resell new and like-new Mexico clothing AND my own dress design. (Skip the story, if you like, and scroll down to the goods.) (I’ve been making and wearing the same dress pattern in different fabrics for the last several years. […]
Video: Danza de los Diablos, African Roots in Mexico, El Tule Guelaguetza 2018
Danza de los Diablos is connected with the Afro-Mestizo history of Oaxaca’s Costa Chica, the Pacific coast region between Puerto Escondido and Acapulco, Guerrero. Now referred to as Mexico’s Third Root, people of African descent are an integral part of what it means to be Mexican, more than only the mix of Europeans and AmerIndians. With the […]
A Word About Chiapas From Trish Tieger
I want to share this with you. It came to me this week unsolicited from Trish Tieger who lives along the Hudson River Valley in New York State. She traveled with us to Chiapas in 2018 and wanted me to know about her experience. Dear Norma, So much time has passed since we returned from […]
Mexico Summer Mixed Clothing–Last Sale of the Season
Thanks to alle who picked a Mexico textile treasure this week! My storage containers are lighter now! Still more to go. I missed a few dresses, wraps and blouses on the first pass — oops, another box found. So, I’m going to squeeze in one more textile sale. Then, perhaps, I’ll have time to post […]
Summer Wraps from Mexico for Sale
In my getting ready to go back to Oaxaca from Durham, NC, I’m going through the boxes of my collection to decide what I’m ready to send off from my house to yours! My departure date is June 22, so please, if you are interested in making a purchase, let me know immediately, and I’ll […]
Summer Frocks From Mexico For Sale
It’s getting steamy hot here in North Carolina. It reminds me of growing up in Southern California pre-air conditioning, when my mom would shut windows and shades tight as soon as the sun came up trying to keep the chill desert night contained for another day. We learned to hunker down in summer heat. Now, […]
Dye from Murex Snails Colors Ancient Cloth Blue and Purple
Writing from Santa Fe, NM: I’m staying at the house of my textile designer friend Norma Cross, who creates felted fiber clothing using natural dyes, wool, silk, and cotton. I brought with me a shirt made on the Oaxaca coast with threads colored purple from the caracol purpura dye. That led her to send me this […]
Women’s Writing Retreat in Oaxaca, Mexico: Take a Discount and Express Yourself
This is our 8th year to offer the Oaxaca Women’s Creative Writing and Gentle Yoga Retreat from June 22-29, 2018. We want a full-house and are offering a 10% discount off the already high-value, low price of $895 for a shared room and $1195 for a single room. It’s not too late to get on […]
Millions of Monarch Butterflies: A Visit to the Biosphere Reserve in Michoacan, Mexico: Study Tour Details
The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in the State of Michoacan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It encompasses most of the municipality of Angangueo, an old mining town high in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and the Sierra Angangueo. Average altitude here is 8,500 feet. An overnight visit to this tunneled colonial mountain town to explore […]
Making PomPoms in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas
Wandering around San Cristobal de Las Casas last week I discovered Punto y Trama, on Belisario Dominguez #13b, just two blocks off the Andador Real de Guadalupe walking street. What drew me in was the sign on the door that announced PomPom workshops. Then, once inside I immediately noticed the furry wool Chamula woven shawls adorned […]
Bonus–Yochib, Oxchuc, Chiapas: Portrait of Young Girl with Dog
Oaxaca and Chiapas have a lot in common. They are the two poorest states in Mexico, have the lowest literacy rates and in the rural areas there is little or no access to health care. Chiapas and Oaxaca have the highest percentage of indigenous people in Mexico, yet they are under-represented in politics and business, […]
Cultural Meaning in Magdalenas Aldama: Chiapas Textile Study Tour
Magdalenas Aldama is an hour-and-a-half from San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, on a winding road deep into the mountains beyond San Juan Chamula. Its isolation is protection from the forces of modernization. The Spanish had difficulty getting there to evangelize. Traditions run deep and strong. Being remote is a double-edge sword. It guarantees lack […]
Chiapas Textile Study Tour Snapshot: If It’s Sunday, It Must Be Chamula and Zinacantan
San Juan Chamula was our first stop on Sunday, the big market day in the Tzotzil speaking Maya village located about thirty minutes outside of San Cristobal de Las Casas. This also happened to be a day for baptisms. As we arrived at the Chamula church, extended families were emerging. Children of all ages were […]
Chiapas Textile Study Tour Snapshot: Saturday Serendipity in Aguacatenango
The idea was to drive to Aguacatenango which is about thirty minutes beyond the pottery village of Amantenango del Valle. We were a good hour or so beyond San Cristobal de Las Casas. Few tourists come in this direction. The idea was to pull up at the church, park the van, gather under the big […]
Chiapas Textile Study Tour Snapshot: Thursday In and Around Tenejapa
On Thursday, we spent the day outside of San Cristobal de Las Casas, on the road to Tenejapa village, Romerillo Maya cemetery and then to the home of Maruch and her son Tesh in the Chamula district of Chiapas. Taking registrations now for 2019 Chiapas Textile Study Tour. Small doorways open from the street into […]
2019 Oaxaca Textile Study Tour: San Mateo del Mar and the Purple Snail
Saturday, January 5 to Thursday, January 10, 2019 — Six days, five nights immersed in the weaving and natural dyeing culture of Oaxaca’s southern coast. You can take this short-course independently or add it on to the front end of our Costa Chica study tour. Itinerary Saturday, January 5, arrive in Huatulco on Oaxaca’s mid-coast. […]
2019 Oaxaca Costa Chica Study Tour: Textile Explorers
Oaxaca Costa Chica Textile Study Tour Arrive on Friday, January 11 and depart on Monday, January 21, 2019 — 10 nights, 11 days in textile heaven! Trip is limited to 11 participants. This entire study tour is focused on exploring the textiles of Oaxaca’s Costa Chica. You arrive to and leave from Puerto Escondido, connecting […]
2019 Chiapas Textiles and Folk Art Study Tour: Deep Into the Maya World
Chiapas Textiles + Folk Art Study Tour: Deep Into the Maya World — February 26-March 7, 2019 Cost • $2,495 double room with private bath (sleeps 2) • $2,995 single room with private bath (sleeps 1) We are based in the historic Chiapas mountain town of San Cristobal de las Casas, the center of the Maya […]
Reviving Lost Textile Traditions in Tututepec, Oaxaca on the Costa Chica
Villa de Tutupec de Melchor Ocampo is a mountain town above the Pacific Ocean on Oaxaca’s Costa Chica. During our recent Oaxaca Textile Study Tour: Valley and Coast, we spent almost a complete day there immersed in the region’s cultural history. Tututepec is tucked into the fold of a mountain that overlooks the Pacific coast and […]
A Journey of Cloth: Amuzgo Weaving on Oaxaca’s Costa Chica
San Pedro Amuzgos is an Amuzgos village nestled in a mountain valley seven hours by winding road from the capital city of Oaxaca. It is closest to Tlaxiaco, but not really. You can get there following MEX 125 by private car or on a regional bus from Oaxaca (or you can come with us). The […]
Beating Wild Cotton on the Oaxaca Costa Chica
We’ve been traveling on Oaxaca’s Costa Chica for the past four days. This is the stretch of territory that starts at Puerto Escondido on the Pacific Ocean and goes north to Acapulco along Mexico’s Highway 200. A highlight of our 12-day Oaxaca Textile Study Tour that started in the central valleys of Oaxaca, was a […]
Sunset in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
My internet connection is funky and while I wanted to publish a post today about our Oaxaca Textile Study Tour trip to the mountain village of San Juan Colorado, it may not happen. The photo download is not cooperating. So in lieu of hand-spun green, brown coyuche and creamy white native cotton, I’m going to […]