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RUGS (TAPETES) -- The Zapotecs call their weavings laadi and
you'll find beautiful rugs in Santa
Ana del Valle and Teotitlán
del Valle.
Wool rugs made in the weaving villages are popular around the world.
In addition to the villages, you can purchase the rugs at the following
markets in Oaxaca City: Artesania,
Sánchez
Pascuas, Benito
Juárez and Abastos.
TEXTILES
(TEXTILES) -- Woven textiles -- blouses, shirts, hammocks,
tableclothes -- are very popular in Oaxaca. Look for cotton products
produced on back-strap looms in Santo
Tomás Jalieza and quality embroidery in San Antonino
Castillo Velasco near Ocotlán.
WOODEN
FIGURES (ALEBRIJES) -- San
Martin Tilcajete, San
Antonio Arrazola and La Union Tejalapam
Invented in the 1950s, the brightly colored carvings are a recent
addition to folk arts are among the best-selling Mexican folk art
in the world.
Alebrijes are monster-type figures that were developed in the style
of popular paper mache figures. In the towns of San
Martin Tilcajete and San
Antonio Arrazola, the figures are carved from the twisted branches
of the copal tree. The wood has a particular fragrance and its resin
has been burned in ceremonial incense burners for thousands of years.
Recommended reading -- in Crafting
Tradition, author Michael Chibnik discusses the effects
on local communities off producing goods for the global market.
POTTERY
(CERAMICA) -- Atzompa,
San
Bartolo Coyotepec |
