Mexico is renowned for its profusion of arts and crafts, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Oaxaca, one of the world’s most exciting art centers. Oaxaca’s blend of indigenous heritage and Spanish-colonial influence has created a culture of artistic expression that is extraordinary. Artisans in neighboring villages are noted for their distinctive handicrafts. Oaxaca’s museums and galleries showcase the folk and contemporary art of the area. The city’s historic district and the pre-Columbian archeological site of Monte Albán have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The state of Oaxaca, located at the southern tip of the Sierra Madre Mountains, has one of Mexico’s largest concentrations of indigenous communities; half the population speaks an indigenous dialect instead of or in addition to Spanish. The villages that surround the city of Oaxaca are the remnants of the Zapotec and Mixtec city states that prevailed in the Valley of Oaxaca for 4,000 years. The people of these villages have retained their languages, cultures and traditions, as well as the handicrafts of hand looming, pottery-making and wood carving that their ancestors developed many centuries ago.

As a tour operator specializing in cultural immersion tours of Colonial Mexico, I consider Oaxaca to be my favorite destination city. Not only does it offer a wealth of art, archeology and architecture, it reminds me of Charleston and Savannah in the U.S. Oaxaca has that extra graciousness that I associate with these two U.S. cities. A trip to Oaxaca is like stepping back into an earlier time, when hospitality, charm and an easy, relaxing pace were the measure of a good visit. 

Oaxaca’s handicrafts are sold in every market, shop, boutique and open stall in the city but it is in the small artisan villages where they are handcrafted that the real bargains and the best pieces are to be found. Each village surrounding the city of Oaxaca is noted for a particular handicraft or product.

Oaxaca is famous for its hand-loomed rugs. In the village of Teotitlán del Valle, the tradition of hand looming goes back many generations. A visit to the “The Bug in the Rug” (the name refers to the cochineal insect that produces a natural red dye) becomes an invitation to the Zapotec weavers’ home. After we are introduced to each member of the family, we present a candle to the family elder for his home altar, then share a wonderful home-hosted lunch of soup, tamales, hand-patted tortillas, local cheeses and dessert.

After lunch we gather in the courtyard of the family compound for demonstrations of the weaving process, from washing and carding the wool, spinning the wool into yarn, dyeing each skein of yarn with natural dyes made from cochineal, indigo, roots, mosses and other organic materials, and finally, the actual weaving on huge wooden looms that have been handed down from generation to generation, as have the recipes for the dyes and the designs in the rugs themselves.

In the villages of Arrazola and San Martín Tilcajete, the people are noted for their alebrijes, the fanciful hand-carved wooden animals that are painted with vivid colors in intricate designs. Alebrijes are a collector’s item, available in boutiques and art museum gift shops throughout the U.S. at prices 10 times what you can purchase them for in the wood carver’s home. Upon entering the family compound you’ll see the men carving figures out of branches of the copal tree, first with a machete to rough out the figure, then with fine knives. The carved pieces are then passed to the young boys for sanding. In most workshops, the girls and women are the painters. The younger girls apply the primary base coats while the older girls and women paint the intricate designs that make these figures so valuable.

Meet the Aguilar sisters

The town of Ocotlán is the home of the world-renowned Aguilar sisters, Josefina, Irene and Guillerma. Their specialty, hand-built clay figures painted in garish colors, can be found in art museums and galleries all over the world. The figures are primarily of people and include Frida Kahlo, ladies of the evening, mermaids, the devil, skeletons dressed in painted finery, market dioramas, manger scenes, wedding parties and other social situations.

The sisters live next door to one another, so it’s easy to visit each workshop. When you step through the doorway onto Josefina’s patio, you’ll find her on her knees in the corner, putting the finishing touches on another masterpiece. Her newest grandchild will be nearby, swinging in a basket hung from a tree limb. Her husband brings the clay from a nearby hillside and works it with his feet, adding water as needed to make it malleable and ready to use. Josefina’s finished works are displayed on tables and shelves and she’ll stop what she’s doing to sign the piece you purchase.

No trip to Oaxaca is complete without a visit to the town of San Bartolo Coyotepec, the home of Oaxaca’s famous hand-built “black on black” pottery. For several thousand years the people of this village have worked the black clay that is unique to this area of the valley. In 1953 a Zapotec potter, Doña Rosa Real de Nieto, discovered that by burnishing the air-dried pots with a piece of quartz stone prior to firing, the finished product had a black lustrous shine. The result is an updated and highly marketable version of a thousand-year-old craft.

Today the production of hand-built “black-on black” pottery has become a cottage industry throughout the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec. The men are responsible for bringing the black clay from the hills behind the village, preparing it and then firing the final products in in-ground kilns that are fueled with wood also brought from the countryside. The women are the potters, throwing their pots on inverted saucers instead of a wheel, using bits of leather, wood and other simple objects to form and decorate each unique piece.

There are other handicrafts in the Valley of Oaxaca. The women of Santo Tomás Jalieza weave cotton cloth on back-strap looms, gathering every morning in the village square to weave and visit with their family and friends, as did their ancestors generations ago. Punched tin ornaments, elaborate hand-embroidered clothing, handcrafted knives and intricate hand-built beeswax candles are other crafts unique to Oaxaca.

Our guide takes us into the homes and family compounds where each of these specialties is crafted. In addition to seeing first-hand the steps involved in hand-crafting, we also see how the people live, learn about their traditions and, most importantly, what these traditions represent to the indigenous artisans who continue their centuries-old skills within the context of contemporary village life.

According to our guide, success for the peoples of the Valley of Oaxaca is measured by how much they retain the languages, cultures, traditions and handicrafts of their ancestors. A visit to their homes proves that they are successful indeed.