Where Flowers Grow on Cloth: Flor de Xochistlahuaca
The Amusgo people span the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero in the mountain region of the Costa Chica between Puerto Escondido and Acapulco. They are back-strap loom weavers of an extraordinary garment called the huipil. This particular textile is fine gauze cotton, a loose weave, to offer comfort to the hot, humid climate. Even in […]
Women Weavers’ Cooperative Vida Nueva, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca: Part Two
This post continues the narrative about women weavers in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. See Part One for my introduction. Honoring Mother’s Day: For all women who gave and received life! *** Vida Nueva (“New Life”) Cooperative at the International Folk Art Market Twenty years ago, Vida Nueva cooperative was founded by six single women from […]
Book Review — Madre: Perilous Journeys with a Spanish Noun by Liza Bakewell
Liza Bakewell takes us where we may never have thought to go: Down Mexico’s dusty back roads and cobblestone alleys, across neighborhood plazas lined with madre-derrogatory grafitti, through bustling markets, in a high speed car zig-zagging the wrong way down a one-way street, in provocative conversation with wise and deferential men, sequestered on the coast […]
Vocal Yoga: Medicine Melodies, Ah Ohm Hoong Rahm Zah
A moment remembered from the Women’s Creative Writing and Yoga Retreat: Our yoga guide Beth Miller gathers us around her in a circle. We sit on chairs, backs tall. At the head of the room is the traditional Zapotec altar complete with candlesticks and an incense burner ready for the next celebration. Forefinger touches thumb […]