One of the sublime pleasures of living in Mexico is being able to savor her homemade chocolate. Chocolate, the word, comes from the Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. In its original tongue, it is spelled Xocolatl, pronounced show-koh-lah-tel. In reality, the t and the l in the final syllable are slammed together, but for our purposes, this transliteration will do. T
To keep Mexico with me while I am in the USA, I like to prepare hot chocolate with brewed coffee — a mix of about 1/4 to 1/3 hot chocolate and the rest coffee that, of course, I bring back from Oaxaca’s Mixteca Alta or from the Chiapas highlands. Chiapas is known for her coffee plantations and her chocolate beans, which are exported all over Mexico and sometimes beyond. The Spanish brought coffee beans to Mexico in the 1700’s and started cultivating it in Veracruz, likely with slaves from Africa who also worked the sugar cane fields.
Every family all over the country has their own recipe for making chocolate. Usual ingredients are vanilla, cinnamon, sugar or panela. Maybe one family might add a bit of chile for throat tickler. Sometimes, they will add almonds, too. But, the primary ingredients are toasted cacao beans, native to Mexico and used as money or barter in pre-Hispanic times. The chocolate maker will buy the raw cacao beans in the market, take them home and toast them on the comal over an open fire, stirring with a brush so they toast evenly. Then, she will take all of these ingredients to the molina in the proportions preferred by each family.
Ibarra and Abuelita and Mayordomo brands just don’t do it, but if you are hard-pressed to find Mexican chocolate and these are the only available, then go for it. Your local Mexican market might have other options.
The chocolate I’m using today was made in Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero. I bought it from the family who prepared a delicious homemade lunch for our group during our visit to Tejadoras Flores de la Llanura weaving cooperative. What I love about this chocolate is that it has very little (or no) sugar. Each piece of chocolate, formed like an oblong ball or bola, is wrapped in a hierba buena leaf. The presentation is beautiful. The chocolate delicious. I add sugar to taste.
Of course, chocolate is super healthy, with anti-inflammatory properties, especially good for those of us as we age, and it is excellent as a cup of hot chocolate on its own. Remember: In Mexico, we drink hot chocolate with water, never adding milk! In Oaxaca, we dunk a concha into hot chocolate for breakfast or for a pre-bedtime snack.
The map says it’s just under five hours from Oaxaca City to the remote Mixtec village of San Pablo Tijaltepec. For those of us who traveled there last Sunday on our Mixteca Alta textile study tour, it seemed more like many more hours and a world far, far away. We were based in Tlaxiaco (Tla-hee-ah-koh), the administrative district headquarters for the Mixtec nation, which extends from the highlands to the Pacific coast. To get from there to Tijaltepec, we traveled more than two hours going up, down, across and through spectacular countryside dotted with pine forests along winding mountain roads where we climbed to 7,425 feet to reach the town of 2,750 people where 91% speak Mixtec, one of Oaxaca’s sixteen different language groups.
The village was an important one for us to visit on our textile and cultural tour because of the amazing smocking (called pepenado) that adorns blouses and dresses made there. I have been enamored of and collected these textiles for years because of their whimsical iconic designs of deer and rabbits that are featured on the bodices.
On this visit we also saw images of birds, ducks, turkeys, jaguars, and people. The smocking is all done by hand and it takes women artisans months to create one blouse. The work is apportioned by interest and skill. One person will make the smocked bodice designs. Another will make the smocked sleeves. Another will add very detailed embroidery around the neckline. Finally, one will assemble and will sew the garment together.
We discovered Kintex Gonzalez Garcia in November 2023 when we attended Original in Mexico City. Original is an expoventa organized by the Mexican Secretary of Tourism under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) to promote indigenous makers throughout the country. Over 1,000 artisans were invited to participate and were supported by the federal government. Over sixty-percent were textile makers. We identified Kintex Gonzalez Garcia by their quality, originality, and complexity. Since we knew were were traveling to Tijaltepec, we reached out to them to arrange to bring our group of fifteen travelers there. This is the first time they welcomed a large group!
They know this is not an easy journey to make and they are isolated. They so appreciated that we came to visit.
Their story is remarkable. Twenty-three years ago Natividad Garcia Silva, head of the cooperative, who learned to weave from her mother at eight, and her husband Geronimo Gonzalez, traveled to Santa Maria, California to live the American Dream. One of eighteen children, she was age 16 at the time. Natividad harvested grapes, strawberries and oranges. They stayed for ten years, cooking, cleaning, gardening, working construction. Their eldest daughter Maria de Jesus, now age twenty-two, was born there. What they found was struggle and difficulty making ends meet.
Thirteen years ago they decided to return to their home town and make a go of designing and sewing the smocked blouses the village has become so well known for. They named their cooperative Kintex, the name of Geronimo’s great grandmother.
One of their daughters went to university in Mexico City and graduated as a civil engineer. She began making contact with the Ministry of Culture and this is how Kintex was invited to participate in Original. Since this is a Usos y Costumbres village, they had to get approval from their community’s president to travel to Mexico City to participate. In traditional villages like this, most do not want to share their weaving and embroidery with outsiders.
Finding markets has been tough. Only lately, have they been able to sell beyond local consumption. Natividad and Germonimo both say there is a lot of need. Single moms and widows survive by selling their textiles and have an income. They both say, We like it that others wear what we make and it says that they value our work. Now, people know where these designs come from!
Social media is their main outlet for selling. They have both a Facebook and Instagram page that Geronimo manages and that their son-in-law, Maria de Jesus’ husband, takes videos for.
The women in the cooperative joined together to prepare lunch for us — pozole (hominy) with locally raised guajalote (turkey), accompanied by homemade tortillas and agua de jamaica (hibiscus drink). We all said it was the best we had ever tasted, anywhere! Natividad insisted on gifting us with this meal because we had traveled so far to visit them. After everyone had left the dining room, I asked her to sit next to me, to look at me, woman to woman, face to face. I explained that it was only fair and just to thank her with a payment for the food they prepared. That it took time, effort, and resources. I took her hand and put a wad of pesos in her palm. She began to cry, confessing this had been a difficult year for them, and we cried together and then hugged.
This is why we do what we do, this is why travelers appreciate coming with us. Because we care about the people who do so much for us, and we in turn, have an opportunity to do for them. This is not about giving a hand-out. It is about cultural appreciation on the most intimate, personal level.
And, of course, we all supported the cooperative with our purchases. It was an amazing day.
Arrive Thursday, February 27 and depart Thursday, March 6, 2025, 7 nights, 8 days
Come to Mexico City to explore the lives of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera through their art, and meet contemporary Mexican fashion designers who are making an impact on international style. This is an in-depth art history and textile education at its best! We offer you a narrated, leisurely cultural immersion that you can miss if you visit on your own. Our guides are textile expert Eric Chavez Santiago and bi-lingual Mexican art historian Valeria E. Small group size guarantees a quality experience.
You will learn about Diego Rivera‘s stunning Mexico City murals, visit Casa Azul where Diego and Frida Kahlo lived, and see the largest private collection of their work at the Dolores Olmedo Museum. Through their eyes, you will better understand Mexico’s political, cultural and social history, and the couple’s personal lives together. Theirs is a story of Mexico’s development as a post-revolutionary modern nation seeking to create its own distinctive identity based on Mestizo culture.
We introduce you to student muralists of the time: Pablo O’Higgins, Marion Greenwood, Isamu Noguchi and others.
To register, send us an email expressing your interest, along with the completed registration form. A $500 deposit per person will secure your space.
Tour cost is $2,935 per person for a shared room, and $3,635 for a single room.
Our expert guide is a noted art historian who holds a master’s degree in art history and studied for the PhD at UNAM. She shares her passion for the Mexican Muralists, narrates the expedition, and leads us through these historic spaces to give you the most meaningful experience:
Casa Azul — the home of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo
Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño
About Frida and Diego: She called him toad. He was 20 years older. They were passionate about life, politics, each other. They shaped the world of modern art and she became an icon in her own right, creating an independent identity that serves as a role model for women today. They were twice married and unfaithful, the subjects of books and film, and art retrospectives around the world.
Rivera’s mural at the Palacio Nacional (National Palace) covers detailed Mexican history, from pre-Hispanic America to the Spanish Conquest through industrialization, including the French and U.S. invasions, from 1521 to 1930. Her paintings express her physical and emotional pain and suffering, as well as her politics. It is said her style is Magical Realism. Some art critics have called her a Surrealist. We will talk about why.
In addition, we are true to our roots as textile experts, introducing you to contemporary Mexican designers and collaborators who are making a statement about creative fashion in this exciting, vibrant and innovative city. We will also dine at some of the city’s most notable restaurants that feature traditional and trailblazing cuisine.
Trip Includes:
7 nights lodging at a respected Centro Historico hotel
6 breakfast and lunches
gala welcome lunch at renown downtown restaurant
Grand finale dinner
entry fees to all museums
guided discussions by an expert, bilingual art historian educated at UNAM and Southern Methodist University
visits to studios + workshops of contemporary fashion designers and collaborators
exploration of textile and folk art galleries
transportation to Casa Azul and Dolores Olmedo Museum
complete travel packet and readings sent in advance via email
Preliminary Itinerary:
Thursday, February 27: Arrive and check-in to our downtown historic center hotel. Gather for a no-host dinner at 7 p.m. Please be sure your flight arrives before 3:00 p.m. to get to the hotel on time for check-in.
Friday, February 28: After breakfast, we are guided by our art historian for a visit to Templo Mayor, to understand the pre-Hispanic history of this region. Then we visit the Rivera murals at SEP (Secretariat de Educacion Publica), at Colegio San Ildefonso, and murals at the Abelardo Rodriguez Market, where social revolutionary followers of Rivera expressed their individual styles. We have a welcome lunch at an outstanding downtown restaurant. The rest of the late afternoon and evening is on your own. Meals included: breakfast and lunch. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Saturday, March 1: After breakfast, we meet our art historian to visit the Rivera murals at the Palacio Nacional, then we make our way to see the murals at Palacio Bellas Artes, followed by a visit to the Rivera Museum to see the famous mural he painted encapsulating the history of Mexico, Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park. We will have lunch nearby, with an optional visit to the nearby folk-art museum. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Sunday, March 2: After breakfast, we take a van ride to Casa Azul, the home of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The Blue House belonged to Frida’s father, a photographer, and when the couple moved in, they expanded it. It is also where Trotsky stayed briefly after his exile from Russia. It is a treasure trove of her paintings, some of his, and their extensive folk-art collection. After lunch, we visit the Museo de Culturas Populares, a small gem in Coyoacan with an exhibition of traditional and contemporary hand made arts of Mexico. Then we meander the galleries and plaza in the quaint neighborhood of Coyoacan. We may even visit the Trotsky house museum! Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Monday, March 3: This starts our textile excursion in Mexico City! After breakfast, we meet with a noted Mexican fashion designer, Guillermo Vargas, in his workshop to understand how he is influencing contemporary style based on traditional techniques. Vargas was motivated by his Japanese heritage, and then founded the brand 1/8 Takamura, so named because his paternal great-grandfather was Japanese. Then we have lunch in one of our favorite restaurants, Azul Historico. After lunch, we have a special visit and a presentation of high quality hand woven textiles from Oaxaca and throughout Mexico in one of our favorite galleries. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Tuesday, March 4: After breakfast, we visit the Dolores Olmedo Museum in Chapultepec Park. (This visit is subject to change as the museum is relocating. We expect it to be open here by the time of our visit.) She was the Rivera benefactor and executor, and he left most of his collection of Frida’s paintings to her. It is the largest collection of her work in the world. From there, we will go to a nearby neighborhood to visit designer galleries and shops. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch. Meals included: breakfast and lunch.
Wednesday, March 5: After breakfast, this is a day to meander on your own. You might choose to visit the Museo de Arte Popular (MAP), the Franz Mayer Museum, shop the basement gourmet food court at mega-department store Palacio de Hierro, or see the Belle Epoque Tiffany stained glass in the lobby at Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico. We will meet in the early evening for our Grand Finale Dinner. Meals included: Breakfast and dinner.
Thursday, March 6: Departure day. We will help you arrange taxis to the airport. Meals included: None.
The tour does NOT include airfare, taxes, tips, travel insurance, liquor or alcoholic beverages, some meals, and local transportation as specified in the itinerary. We reserve the right to substitute instructors and alter the program as needed.
Reservations and Cancellations. A $500 non-refundable deposit (first payment) is required to guarantee your spot. The balance is due in two equal payments. The second payment of 50% of the balance is due on or before August 1, 2024. The third payment, the remaining 50% of the balance is due on or before December 1, 2024. We accept payment using Zelle transfer (no fees) or you can make your payments with a credit card with a 4% service fee. We will send you an invoice when you tell us you are ready to register. After December 1, 2024, there are no refunds. If you cancel on or before December 1, 2024, we will refund 50% of your deposit received to date less the $500 non-refundable reservation deposit. After that, there are no refunds.
How to Register: First, complete the Registration Form and send it to us. We will then send you a request to make your reservation deposit.
If we cancel for whatever reason, we will offer a 100% refund of all amounts received to date, less the non-refundable deposit.
All documentation for plane reservations, required travel insurance, and personal health issues must be received 45 days before the program start or we reserve the right to cancel your registration without reimbursement.
NOTE: All travelers must provide proof of international travel insurance that includes $50,000+ of medical evacuation coverage, plus current COVID-19 vaccinations to travel with us. CDC-approved face masks are highly recommended during the tour, especially in crowded areas.
Terrain, Walking and Group Courtesy: Mexico City is at 7,000 feet altitude. Sidewalks can be narrow and crowded. We will do some walking. Please bring a walking stick and wear comfortable hiking/walking shoes.
NOTE: If you have mobility issues or health/breathing impediments, please consider that this may not be the program for you.
Traveling with a small group has its advantages, and also means that independent travelers will need to make accommodations to group needs and schedule. We include plenty of free time to go off on your own if you wish.
Posted onSunday, February 4, 2024|Comments Off on First Mexico City on Our Way to the Monarch Butterflies
We spent our first full day in Mexico City with an art history immersion, exploring the murals of the three greats of Mexican Muralism — José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros.
First, we meandered through the Abelardo Rodriguez Market to find the murals painted by Rivera’s acolytes, including the Greenwood sisters and Pablo O’Higgins.
We may offer this trip in 2026. Contact us to let us know if you are interested.
Then, we got to Palacio Bellas Artes where the second floor is filled with larger-than-life paintings telling the story of post-revolutionary Mexico, including Rivera’s famous Man Controller of the Universe that he recreated to replace the mural that Rockefeller destroyed in New York City, and Siqueiros’ Torment of Cuauhtemoc.
We strolled through the Alameda Park to the Diego Rivera Museum to see the mural saved from the 1985 earthquake titled Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park.
After lunch at Azul Histórico in the Downtown complex at Isabel La Católica #30, we went upstairs to meet with Sagrario at Remigio’s. We know him from Oaxaca as the finest curator of indigenous textiles in Mexico.
Our Oaxaca Cultural Navigator partner Eric Chavez Santiago, an expert in Mexican textiles, explained the fibers and iconography of the special pieces that Sagrario selected to show us.
Today, we are in Ziticuaro and tomorrow we make our way to Angangueo to the monarch butterfly reserve. It’s warming up, so we are hoping it will be a spectacular sighting.
Get on the list to know more about Mexican Muralism and the work of Frida Kahlo. Send an email to tell us you want to be notified when we publish Looking for Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico City, Winter 2025.
Arrive on Saturday, January 11 and depart on Sunday, January 19, 2025 — 8 nights, 9 days in textile heaven!
This tour will not be offered in 2026!
We go deep, and not wide. We give you an intimate, connecting experience. We spend time to know the culture. You will meet artisans in their homes and workshops, enjoy local cuisine, dip your hands in an indigo dye-bath, and travel to remote villages you may never get to on your own. This study tour focuses on revival of ancient textile techniques and Oaxaca’s vast weaving culture that encompasses the use of natural dyes, back-strap loom weaving, drop spindle hand spinning, and glorious, pre-Hispanic native cotton in warm brown called coyuchi, verde (green) and creamy white. We cover vast distances going north on MEX 200 along the Costa Chica, traveling to secluded mountain villages. This tour is for the most adventurous, hardy textile travelers!
At Oaxaca Cultural Navigator, we aim to give you an unparalleled and in-depth travel experience to participate and delve deeply into indigenous culture, folk art and celebrations. To register, please complete the Registration Form and email it to us. When you tell us you are ready to register, we will send you a request to make your reservation deposit.
Cost is $3,895 per person shared room or $4,795 per person for private room. See details and itinerary below.
My husband and I just finished this years tour it was fantastic. This trip is an incredible once in a life time opportunity to go where the tourists never go and learn about native cotton being grown, spun and woven. A real highlight of the trip is dinner on the beach with the turtle release and a swim in the bioluminescence lagoon. This trip is a true weavers delight.
This entire study tour is focused on exploring the textiles of Oaxaca’s Costa Chica. You arrive to and leave from Puerto Escondido (PXM), connecting through Mexico City or Oaxaca. You might like to read about on the Oaxaca coast, it’s about the cloth, not the cut.
Villages along the coast and neighboring mountains were able to preserve their traditional weaving culture because of their isolation. The Spanish could not get into those villages until the late 18th century. Much now is the same as it was then. Stunning cotton is spun and woven into lengths of cloth connected with intricate needlework to form amazing garments. Beauty and poverty are twin sisters here.
What we do:
We visit 7 weaving villages in Oaxaca and Guerrero
We meet back-strap loom weavers, natural dyers, spinners
We see, touch, smell native Oaxaca cotton — brown, green, natural
We participate in a sea turtle release with sunset dinner on the beach
We swim in a rare bioluminescence lagoon
We visit three local markets to experience daily life
We travel to remote regions to discover amazing cloth
We learn about Afro-Mestizo identity on the Pacific Coast
We support indigenous artisans directly
We escape from El Norte WINTER
Take this study tour to learn about:
the culture, history, and identity of cloth
beating and spinning cotton, and weaving with natural dyes
native seed preservation and cultivation
clothing design and construction, fashion adaptations
symbols and meaning of regional textile designs
choice of colors and fibers that show each woman’s aesthetic while keeping with a particular village traje or costume
the work of women in pre-Hispanic Mexico and today
PRELIMINARY ITINERARY
Saturday, January 11: Fly to Puerto Escondido—overnight in Puerto Escondido, Group Welcome Dinner at 6:00 p.m. Meals included: Dinner
Sunday, January 12: Puerto Escondido market meander (optional). Lunch and afternoon on your own. Late afternoon departure for turtle release and Manialtepec bioluminescence lagoon with beach dinner. Overnight in Puerto Escondido. Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
Monday, January 13: Depart after breakfast for Tututepec to visit a young Mixtec weaver who is reviving his village’s textile traditions, visit local museum and murals. We will enjoy a home-cooked meal with a regional mole dish prepared by the family. Travel by van several hours north to Ometepec, Guerrero. Overnight in Ometepec. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Tuesday, January 14: After breakfast, we go to Zacoalpan, a bygone Amusgo village where Jesus Ignacio and his family weave native coyuchi, green and natural white cotton to make traditional huipiles. They are rescuing designs from fragments of ancient cloth. Then, we have lunch in nearby Xochistlahuaca with an outstanding weaving cooperative that creates glorious, diaphanous textiles embellished with a palette of colorful designs reflecting the flora of the region. Overnight in Ometepec.
Wednesday, January 15: After breakfast, we visit downtown Ometepec and the regional market, then make a stop at the Afro-Mexican Museum to learn about the rich cultural history and traditions of the region populated by Mexicans whose roots are from Africa and the slave trade. We continue to Pinotepa Nacional for a late lunch and to check into our hotel. Enjoy an expoventa and demonstration with embroiderers. Overnight in Pinotepa Nacional. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Thursday, January 16: After breakfast, we explore the Pinotepa Nacional market, the largest in the region, where you may find hand-woven agave fiber tote bags, masks, textiles, and embroidered collars, as well as household goods and food. Then, we travel about an hour to the weaving village of San Juan Colorado for a home cooked lunch and visit two women’s cooperatives working in natural dyes, hand-spinning, and back strap loom weaving. Overnight in Pinotepa Nacional. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Friday, January 17: After breakfast, we travel back up the mountain to the village of Pinotepa de Don Luis to meet noted weavers who work with naturally dyed cotton. Here, we will see jicara gourd carvers, too, who make jewelry and serving containers. We have lunch with Tixinda Cooperative members who are licensed to harvest the purple snail dye. In this village, the almost extinct caracol purpura snail is the traditional color accent for many textiles. Overnight in Pinotepa Nacional. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Saturday, January 18: After breakfast, we begin our return to Puerto Escondido, a two-and-a-half-hour van ride. The rest of the day is on your own to explore, relax and pack. Lunch is on your own. We meet at 6 p.m. for our Grand Finale Dinner. Overnight in Puerto Escondido. Meals included: Breakfast and dinner.
Sunday, January 19: Depart for home. Meals included: None.
Note: You can add days on to the tour — arrive early or stay later to enjoy the beach and two swimming pools — at your own expense. We also suggest you arrive a day early (your own hotel expense) to avoid any unforeseen winter flight delays.
Cost to Participate
$3,895 shared double room with private bath (sleeps 2)
$4,795 for a single supplement (private room and bath, sleeps 1)
Your Oaxaca Cultural Navigator: Eric Chavez Santiago
Eric Chavez Santiago is the Oaxaca Cultural Navigator partner with Norma Schafer. He joined us in 2022. Eric is an expert in Oaxaca and Mexican textiles and folk art with a special interest in artisan development and promotion. He is a weaver and natural dyer by training and a fourth-generation member of a distinguished weaving family, the Fe y Lola textile group. He and his wife Elsa Sanchez Diaz started Taller Teñido a Mano dye studio where they produce naturally dyed yarn skeins and textiles for worldwide distribution. He is trilingual, speaking Zapotec, Spanish and English and is a native of Teotitlan del Valle. He is a graduate of Anahuac University, founder of the Museo Textil de Oaxaca education department, and former managing director of the Harp Helu Foundation folk-art gallery Andares del Arte Popular. He has intimate knowledge of local traditions, culture, and community and personally knows all the artisans we visit on this tour.
Oaxaca Cultural Navigator Founder Norma Schafer may participate in all or part of this tour.
We have invited a noted cultural anthropologist to travel with us. She did her thesis in a nearby textile village and has worked in the region for the past 15 years. She knows the textile culture and people intimately, too. Together, we learn about and discuss motifs, lifestyle, endangered species, quality, and value of direct support.
We sell out each year so don’t hesitate to make your registration deposit ASAP if you are interested in participating.
Reservations and Cancellations. A $750 non-refundable deposit is required to guarantee your place. The balance is due in two equal payments. The second payment of 50% of the balance is due on or before July 1, 2024. The third payment, 50% balance, is due on or before November 1, 2024. We accept payment using a Zelle transfer (no service fee), or with a credit card (4% service fee). For the credit card payment, we will send you a Square invoice. Tell us when you are ready to register.
After November 1, 2024, there are no refunds. If you cancel on or before November 1, 2024, we will refund 50% of your deposit received to date (less the $750 non-refundable deposit). After that, there are no refunds UNLESS we cancel for any reason. If we cancel, you will receive a full 100% refund.*
Required–Travel Health/Accident Insurance: We require that you carry international accident/health insurance that includes $50,000+ of emergency medical evacuation insurance. Check out Forbes Magazine for best travel insurance options. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/travel-insurance/best-travel-insurance/
Proof of insurance must be sent at least 45 days before departure.
About COVID. Covid is still with us and new variants continue to arise. We request proof of latest COVID-19 vaccination and all boosters to be sent 45 days before departure. We ask that you bring two test kits with you and several N-95 or KN-95 face masks. Face masks are strongly suggested for van travel, densely populated market visits, and artisan visits that are held indoors. We ask this to keep all travelers safe, and to protect indigenous populations who are at higher risk. If you get sick, we will ask you to withdraw from the tour.
Be certain your passport has at least six months on it before it expires from the date you enter Mexico! It’s a Mexico requirement.
Why Travel With Us: Help sustain regenerative traditions.
We know the culture! This is our land! We are locally owned and operated.
Eric Chavez Santiago is tri-lingual --Spanish, English, Zapotec.
Eric was founding director of education, Museo Textil de Oaxaca + folk art expert
Norma Schafer has lived in Oaxaca since 2005.
Norma is a seasoned university educator.
We have deep connections with artists and artisans.
63% of our travelers repeat -- high ratings, high satisfaction.
Wide ranging expertise: textiles, folk art, pottery, cultural wisdom.
We give you a deep immersion to best know Oaxaca and Mexico.
We organize private travel + tours for museums, arts, organizations, collectors + appreciators.
Creating Connectionand Meaning between travelers and with indigenous artisans. Meet makers where they live and work. Join small groups of like-minded explorers. Go deep into remote villages. Gain insights. Support cultural heritage and sustainable traditions. Create value and memories. Enjoy hands-on experiences. Make a difference.
What is a Study Tour: Our programs are learning experiences, and as such we talk with makers about how and why they create, what is meaningful to them, the ancient history of patterning and design, use of color, tradition and innovation, values and cultural continuity, and the social context within which they work. First and foremost, we are educators. Norma worked in top US universities for over 35 years and Eric founded the education department at Oaxaca’s textile museum. We create connection.
OCN Creates Student Scholarship at Oaxaca Learning Center Giving back is a core value. Read about it here
Meet Makers. Make a Difference
Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university, textile and artisan development experience. See About Us.
Programs can be scheduled to meet your independent travel plans. Send us your available dates.
Arts organizations, museums, designers, retailers, wholesalers, curators, universities and others come to us to develop artisan relationships, customized itineraries, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
Select Clients *Abeja Boutique, Houston *North Carolina Museum of Art *Selvedge Magazine-London, UK *Esprit Travel and Tours *Penland School of Crafts *North Carolina State University *WARP Weave a Real Peace *Methodist University *MINNA-Goods *Smockingbird Kids *University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
October 27, 28, 29: DAY OF THE DEAD PHOTO WORKSHOP in Teotitlán Del Valle with Luvia Lazo, featured in The New Yorker Magazine. Portraits and Street Photography, recipient of Leica Women Foto Project Award Winner 2024. This is an insider's Street and Portrait photography experience. We visit families in their homes to arrange photo sessions, we take you on the back streets where tourists rarely go.
October 30: Bucket List Day of the Dead Immersion in Teotitlan del Valle A one-day immersion into culture, traditions, and meaning. Build an altar. Gather altar decor at the special market. Savor a homemade tamale lunch. Taste mezcal. Visit artisans. Dye a special textile. Register FAST.
December 6-14: Oaxaca Textile Tour and Workshopsincluding dye and weaving workshops, Tlacolula market and spinning village visits, plus lots more. With Fiber Circle Studio, Petaluma, California. Registration open!
January 11-17, Deep Dive Into Oaxaca: Cooking, Culture + Craft.Take a cooking class and printmaking workshop, visit artisan studios, weavers, potteries, eat street tacos, taste artesanal mezcal, shop at markets, explore the depths.
February 6-15:Guatemala Textile Study Tour: Cloth and Culture. Discover Antigua, Lake Atitlan and Panajachel, Chichicastenango Market, and visit Coban where they weave fine gauze cloth called pikbil. SOLD OUT
March 12-17: Deep Into the Mixteca Alta: Oaxaca Textile + Folk Art Study Tour 2025. This is cultural immersion at its best! Following the Dominican Route, we visit potteries, churches, Triqui weavers working in natural dyes, a cooperative in Tijaltepec that makes smocked blouses, the expansive Tlaxiaco Saturday Tianguis. Experience another side of Oaxaca.
October: Japan Folk Art and Textile Tour. Get on the Interested List. Details to Come. Email us.
Oaxaca has the largest and most diverse textile culture in Mexico! Learn about it.
When you visit Oaxaca immerse yourself in our textile culture: How is indigenous clothing made, what is the best value, most economical, finest available. Suitable for adults only. Set your own dates.
One-Day Tours: Schedule When YOU Want to Go!
Ruta del Mezcal One-Day Tour.We start the day with pottery, visiting a master, then have lunch with a Traditional Oaxaca Cook who is the master of mole making. In Mitla, we meet with our favorite flying shuttle loom weaver, and then finish off with a mezcal tasting at a palenque you will NEVER find on your own! Schedule at your convenience!
Teotitlan del Valle Map with select rug weavers, restaurants, village attractions
Tlacolula Market Map -- where to find food, shopping, ATMs, and more
Our Favorite Things to Do in Oaxaca -- eating, shopping, gallery hopping + more
We require 48-hour advance notice for orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after your order is received. Please be sure to send your email address. Where to see natural dyed rugs in Teotitlan del Valle and layout of the Sunday Tlacolula Market, with favorite eating, shopping, ATMs. Click Here to Buy Map After you click, be sure to check PayPal to ensure your email address isn't hidden from us. We fulfill each map order personally. It is not automatic.
