After two weeks of programs with Oaxaca Culture, Tenido a Mano, and Fe y Lola, we would like to thank all of the participants and hope to see you again soon.
We can’t begin another blog entry without mentioning that our long-time friend and partner Norma Schafer has announced the official transition of Oaxaca Cultural Navigator to us. Elsa and I will take over this wonderful project that, in some ways, we started together with Norma many years ago when I met her in the market in Teotitlan Del Valle, my hometown.
We are very excited about this new chapter in our lives and are looking forward to meeting new people and leading cultural textile tours in Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Michoacán. To learn more about our upcoming programs, follow us on social media and on our websites.
This year for Dia de los Muertos of 2022...
On October 29th, we welcomed the participants of our Dia de los Muertos Cultural Tour, which was a success!
This 5-day tour takes place away from Oaxaca City and is based in Teotitlan Del Valle, where the traditional celebration continues. We discussed the significance of this celebration in the Zapotec communities we visited, we actively participated in purchasing ofrendas for our altar, we paid offerings to the guest artisan homes we visited, and we had mezcal and delicious food.
Most importantly, we discussed how this time of year is used to remember and honor those who are no longer with us in this world. Death, in the Zapotec culture, is another step into the continuation of our time in the universe, so a celebration is held to guide the souls into our altar. Every offering on the altar serves a special purpose and meaning during November 1 and 2. We hope to repeat this fantastic tour next year; stay tuned for information on our Dia de los Muertos programs in 2023.
We also celebrated the grand opening of my family’s new showroom in Teotitlan Del Valle, which took some time to complete and finally opened to the public at the end of October this year. This new space highlights the family’s unique work as well as the dialogue between traditional and contemporary work that we have been experimenting with over the last 20 years. If you visit Oaxaca, please stop by Teotitlan and say hello to us in this new location.
On November 3, we hosted 8 textile artisan studios at Tenido a Mano in Teotitlan Del Valle for an exhibition and sale of their work. We opened this event to the public, and we were extremely happy with the turnout, thanks to everyone who came out to support the artisans. We will continue to develop similar programs in order to invite more master artisans from various disciplines such as ceramics and woodwork for future event sales. All profits earned go directly to the artisans who participate.
We are now excited to return to our studios, one in Oaxaca City where you can book a natural dye workshop with Elsa, and the other in Teotitlan Del Valle where we will be spending more time on fiber dyeing and weaving production.
For more information about our programs, please visit our websites, follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or email us at tenidoamano@gmail.com.
We hope to hear from you!
Elsa and Eric
