Las Cuevitas, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico
They call it “the little caves.” The road there curves through the village from the church, up the narrow cobblestone paved streets, crosses over a bridge, then becomes dirt at the outskirts of town. If you closed your eyes, you could be in medieval Europe, but you are in southern Mexico and it is January […]
Where to Eat in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
Perhaps you are doing a day-trip to Teotitlan del Valle during your stay in Oaxaca. You’ve done your research, have the map I offer for sale, and have identified the weavers to visit who work only in natural dyes (we hope!). You are in the village all day and, of course, want a spot to […]
Travel Guide to Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca: Self-Guided Tour Map
You have been asking for a self-guided tour map that highlights my favorite artists and artisans in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico. I have been promising to create and publish this map for some time! It’s now completed and I am offering it for sale at $10 USD for one copy. How to order? Click […]
Teotitlán del Valle; Mexico’s Famous Village of Rug Weavers Read more at Suite101: Teotitlán del Valle: Mexico’s Famous Village of Rug Weavers
Many of you know that Christine Zenino, Chicago-based travel writer and photographer, participated in our recent Oaxaca Day of the Dead Documentary Photography Workshop, October 2010. Chrissy writes for Suite 101 and just posted this story on November 30, 2010. It is a lovely reflection of the village and tapestry weaving. I want to share […]
Usos y Costumbres: Zapotec Wedding Traditions
The relatives of the groom were preparing for this wedding weeks in advance. They bought the plumpest chickens, ordered the folding chairs, tables and red and blue striped fiesta tent, asked the baker to prepare the biggest and lightest cake, hired the melodious local band, and arranged for the magistrate to perform the legal marriage […]
The Last Dance of the Feather
The Dance of the Feathers, or Las Danzantes de la Pluma, is a three year commitment. The group that just finished its commitment self-assembled and went to the Teotitlan del Valle Committee (the leaders of the communitarian cummunity) and asked to be named to represent the village, making the promise to god and community that […]
After Day of the Dead Reflection 2009
There is peace on the hilltop. Below muffled sounds of drums, bass, voice, amplify across the valley. A dog sleeps in the sun. The gringa healer brings sighs of relief to stressed clients. A breeze blows over the patio bordered by mature agave fifteen feet tall and equally as wide. A birdsong adds refrain. In […]
Day of the Dead Teotitlan Del Valle 2009
The church bells sound at 3:00 p.m. signaling the time to light the copal incense burner and begin the festival meal as the dead find their way back to the cemetery via the sweet aroma and candlelight. Federico lights the incense and puts the smokey charcoal in the center of the casa courtyard. We sit […]
Muertos at Home: Mezcal, the Breakfast Chaser — Oaxaca 2009
The elderly couple entered the altar room bearing a basket of bread (pan), chocolate, floras de muertos (an aromatic small white wild flower) and a tall beeswax candle made in the village. They lit the candle and replaced the new one in the large holder, careful not to let the flame extinguish. Incense burned and […]
Day of the Dead: Dia de los Muertos
Day of the Dead, a celebration and festival of relatives who have passed on, is sacred and joyous in Oaxaca as in other parts of Mexico. I am returning to Oaxaca for “Muertos” as the locals call it, arriving on October 28. Muertos Countdown October 31 Our family friend, Janet Chavez Santiago, tells us that […]
El Dio del Maize: Corn God of Mexico–Rug Weaving
This afternoon Federico Chavez Sosa completed this extraordinary handwoven 100% wool rug created with natural dyes and cut it from his loom. It is a complex design that requires special skill to execute the curves and circles to perfection. The piece measures 32″ x 57″ and is $500 USD. Dyes are from the cochineal bug, […]
Las Granadas Bed & Breakfast: An Interview with Josefina Ruiz Vazquez
Scenes of Las Granadas Bed & Breakfast, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca In 2005, our friend Annie Burns invited Stephen and I to visit her in Teotitlan del Valle, where she was now living permanently. She told us about a young mother and mother-in-law who were at a loss to figure out how to provide income […]
Weaving a Curve-Documentary Film: English Subtitles
I’m happy to announce that we now have the film that Eric and I made last February translated and imbedded with English subtitles. Hallelujah! Here’s the URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxgxcMQlQZM Be sure to see the blog post: Documentary Filmmaking Workshop: Visual Storytelling for the February 19-16, 2010 workshop. Taking registrations now. I’m so NOVICE using Final Cut […]
Woven Together: Entretejidos — Oaxaca Documentary Film
This short film was written, filmed and directed by the team of Eunice Hogeveen and Sarah Kennedy Davis and created as part of the Oaxaca Documentary Filmmaking Workshop: Visual Storytelling, which was held in the village of Teotitlan del Valle from January 31 to February 6, 2009. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwxuUb6fPL4 The film tells the story of […]
Weaving a Curve: A Documentary Short Film
Eric Chavez Sosa and I made this six minute short documentary film during the January 31-February 6 workshop held by Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC in Teotitlan del Valle. It was our first film making collaboration and we were definitely novices! Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UHCPpaap3E “Weaving a Curve” featuring master weaver Federico Chavez Sosa. He talks […]
Documentary Filmmaking in Oaxaca: Before We Begin
The essential part of creating an extraordinary learning experience is to have everything confirmed in advance. We still had some loose ends which we discovered on Saturday, the morning after our arrival. The language and cultural differences created a challenge that even I, a seasoned Teotitlan traveler, discovered. Mikel had been trying to reach Uriel […]
New Year Letter (2009) from Anne Burns
January 20, 2009 Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico Dear Family and Friends, Thank you, thank you, thank you. For sending generous sums of money, clothes and toys, this year and over the past four years. For your suggestions, prayers and good thoughts that float down to us on the wind. And for your interest in the well being […]
Guacalotes on the Table: New Year’s Eve in Teotitlan Part One
The two dogs dozed in the late morning sun at Annie’s front door. The guacalotes (a local type of turkey) are gurgling in the yard next door. I am on the mat again for my birthday morning shiatsu massage. Annie gives me the gift of an extra half hour and it is wonderful, soothing, a […]
Four Days in Puebla: Part Four or Los Tigres del Norte
Sunday in Puebla is difficult to think about right now as I lay in bed at the Chavez family home in Teotitlan. After walking and taxi rides all over Puebla this morning in a quest for the ultimate talavera pottery for Sam first in the El Parian district and then a swing through Uriarte, then […]
Valentina’s Garden
My friend Annie, known locally as Ana del Campo, lives on the hillside on the other side of the river Rio Grande that runs through town from the presa (dam) throuh the cleavage between two mountains. We came to visit her some years ago and that is how we got to Teotitlan del Valle. Annie […]
A Remarkable Day of Not Much of Anything
El tremblor! I awakened to the shaking of my bed this first morning after my arrival in Teotitlan del Valle. An earthquake? I wondered. Then, I heard the back and forth pounding hum of the loom, hand moving beater to tighten the warp threads through the weft and thought perhaps that the loom was shaking. […]
December Holidays in Oaxaca
Winter holidays – during the Christmas season and through the New Year – are a perfect time to visit Oaxaca (Wah-Ha-Kah). The daytime sun is warming and the evening chill is perfect for strolling wrapped in a hand woven robozo (shawl). Festive, brightly colored cut paper flags hang from the tops of buildings and drape […]
Diagramming the Altar of the Dead: Dia de los Muertos
Beginning in pre-Columbian times in the Zapotec culture, the dead are remembered through ofrendas (offerings). Each year the souls of the dead return to earth to partake with the living the foods they enjoyed when they were alive. The ofrenda rests on an altar dedicated to the dead relatives who are only able to return […]
Dia de Los Muertos: Day of the Dead in Teotitlan del Valle
Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is the second most important celebration in the Oaxacan village of Teotitlan del Valle after the Preciosa Sangre de Christo (Precious Blood of Christ) honoring the patron saint of Teotitlan, which is always held the first Wednesday of July (except when the first Wednesday of July is […]
Rhythms of Zapotec Weaving
The thump, thump, rhythmic cadence of the loom awakens me on the mornings that Federico Chavez Sosa is at his loom. It is a gentle beating against the warp threads that have just been inserted, back and forth, back and forth, an ancient harmony like a drum beat that calls to me. The sun has […]
Blue-Indigo-Anil: Natural Dyes of Oaxaca
These traditional Zapotec Mexican rug designs capture the beauty of the landscape, replicate the stone carvings on the archeological ruins of the Oaxaca Valley, and convey the artistry of the culture. The first rug on the left, Zapotec Eye of God, uses the natural dyes of indigo blue, the cochineal bug, and pomegranates. All the […]
Escuela Secondaria Graduation Ceremony
An eighth grade education is mandatory in Mexico, and today we celebrated Omar Chavez Santiago’s graduation marking this milestone in typical Zapotec pomp and circumstance. There were 73 students who completed the Escuela Secondaria de Teotitlan del Valle in a three hour ceremony that was more like a mini-Guelaguetza. About half of the graduates will […]
From Mitla to Sumatra: The Art of the Woven Fret
THIS is Oaxaca! The colors and graphics alone of this brochure singularly depict the vibrancy and energy of Oaxaca life and art. The opening exhibit at the new Museo Textil de Oaxaca explores the pattern of the fret or greca as a universal textile design used around the globe, from southern Mexico to Indonesia. There […]
Let the Parade Begin: Zapotec Weddings in Teotitlan
The preparation begins days, even months ahead. A few days before, the party truck pulls up to deliver hundreds of chairs and raise the huge red and blue striped tent that will cover the courtyard. The wedding celebration is about to begin. On the morning of the wedding, the couple welcomes their relatives in the […]
Category Poem: Teotitlan del Valle
Delight of winter warmth, carved stones from an ancient culture supporting the Dominican Catholic church, rusty red coiled bedspring fence, hot pink bougainvilleas framing arched entries, braying donkeys — a wake-up call, cobblestones under foot, the sentinel mount Picacho, looms, dye pots, cauldrons of fresh hot chocolate, pollo con mole, Samburguesa’s tacos, Anita’s nieves, daily […]