Thru the lens of Deborah Whitehouse

Zapotec weavers relocate to San Miguel,
Jan 26, 2007

I first met Sergio Mendoza Mendoza and his mother, Leonor, in 2004 while I was visiting Oaxaca. Sergio’s sister, Juanita, was selling rugs in the main market in Oaxaca, the Mercado Central.

They warmly invited my husband and me to their house in Teotitlán del Valle to meet their family of weavers and to watch their Zapotec rug-making process. Since then, we have seen each other every year when they come to San Miguel for the wool and bronze show. 

This year, however, they did not return to Oaxaca after the show. The violence in Oaxaca has disrupted their survival so much that they cannot sell their rugs in the market there. Yet many Zapotecs in Oaxaca are dependent on the continuation of this craft and business for their livelihood. The Mendoza family is like a craft guild; more than 30 members of their extended family are involved in the business in their hometown of Teotitlán. They have 20 weavers and more than 10 people preparing the wool for weaving through a lengthy process of carding, cleaning and spinning. The idea of breaking up his family was heart-wrenching for Sergio, but the move to San Miguel was necessary. Sergio and the rest of his family are grateful for the open-arms support of sanmiguelenses and the local community. 

The Mendoza family, beginning with Sergio’s great-grandfather and the family’s patriarch, Juvenal Mendoza, are part of a tradition of Oaxacan rug makers whose style has been passed down through the family from generation to generation since 1890.

Their family signature is a distinct diamond with the initials “JM” woven into the edge of each rug, and their yarn is colored with natural dyes that they make themselves from plants that include indigo, brown nut shells, the yellow flor de zempazúchitl, and the live nopal parasite, cochinilla. By adding a little baking soda and lime the cochinilla can yield 60 different shades between orange and deep red. Indigo creates a wide range of shades from light blue to almost black. In all, they can create over 200 authentic and distinct colors from these four natural sources. Many other rugs are frequently made with commercial chemical dyes, but the Mendozas use these plants to maintain the authenticity of their rugs. The cochinilla alone costs 
3,000 pesos per kilo.

Visitors are invited to stop by their puesto at the Artisan’s market, calle San Francisco 10, between 10am and 7pm daily for a demonstration of dye and yarn making. It’s a rich experience to watch Leonor comb and twist the washed wool into yarn while Sergio and Juanita create colorful dyes. San Miguel is fortunate to inherit this wonderful family and welcomes them to their new home.