Page 88 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL WINTER SPRING 2022

She told us how countless generations of women be-
fore her dug red clay from El Picacho Mountain above
her village and formed it into functional and beautiful
pots, bowls and clay figures.
But it wasn’t until Martinez left her home 40 years
ago - a scandalous act for a single woman at the time -
to display her works at regional markets that the vil-
lage became known as an art center for pottery pro-
duced by the Barro Rojo (red clay) collective.
The second, a weaving cooperative in Teotitlán del
Valle, was founded as a way for indigenous women
who were single mothers or widows to support them-
selves. There was pushback from men in the beginning,
but the weavers’ efforts have helped put the village’s
textiles - some of their geometric designs taken from
local Zapotec ruins - on the map.
Pastora Gutierrez, a leader of the “Nueva Vida”
(New Life) guild, showed us how to spin wool and then
dye it using leaves, herbs, nuts and other native plants
and tree bark.
Gutierrez, who had an impish smile, gave several of
us the opportunity to work on a loom before guiding us
into a showroom where we could purchase blankets,
rugs and shawls as “recuerdos” (memories) of our brief
time in Oaxaca.
Like I said, I’ll be back.