Nahuatl | Oaxaca Cultural Navigator : Norma Schafer

We are adding a nice detail to the already textile extensive — and intensive — Mexico Textiles and Folk Art Study Tour: Tenancingo Rebozos and More!

Mazahua embroidered bodice with fine detail of animal figures

We have invited two indigenous Mexican artisans, one is Nahuatl who lives on the volcano side of Orizaba and the other is Mazahua from Estado de Mexico (State of Mexico) to come to our hotel for a needlework demonstration and sale. Their work is among the finest of this type in the region.

Fine cross-stitch needlework, called punto de cruz, examples of Mazahua work

Cross-stitch embroidery embellishes small handbags

Cross-stitch embroidery embellishes small cotton handbags, called bolsas

The study tour meets in Mexico City on February 2. We travel for a week together and return to Mexico City on February 10. Departure day is February 11.

4 spaces open! Will one be yours?

On Thursday, November 1, artist Mauricio Cervantes and friends at El Sueño de Elpis are hosting a multimedia exhibition in Oaxaca. It will be at Murguia #103 in an old abandoned historic casa. The event begins at 7 p.m. and it should be a fantastic, knowing Mauricio’s talent for producing something aesthetically exquisite. Since our photo group will be in Teotitlan, I am arranging an earlier preview! Disfruta bien.

And around the streets of Oaxaca, the cempazuchitl Day of the Dead marigolds are appearing in every window, shop and restaurant. The flowers are an abundant reminder of how the scent helps the dead find their way back to earth for one day to visit their relatives. The word is Nahuatl and has various spellings, all of which are pronounced more or less similarly.