Four Generations of Threads
A Journey through the Transformation of the Art of Otomo Weaving in the Mejay Valley, Mexico
Tres artesanas del colectivo Domitzu tejiendo en sus telares de cintura (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
The beginning in El Mejay
For centuries, the Otomi women of the Mezquital Valley knew only ixtle, a stiff fiber obtained from the maguey plant. Extracting the fiber took days: cutting the leaves in the correct moon phase, carving, drying, and spinning. A full ayate (loosely woven cloth) took a week of continuous work.
Retrato de la artesana Martina García Cruz del colectivo Domitzu (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
Changing traditions
A teacher arrived with a cotton loom for her personal use. Twelve-year-old Martina García Cruz watched, fascinated by that soft, white material, so different from the rough maguey fiber that her hands had always known.
Retrato de las manos de la artesana Martina García Cruz del colectivo Domitzu (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
A mischievous act that changed everything
While the teacher cooked tortillas, Martina took the loom. Her fingers, accustomed to ixtle, discovered the softness of cotton. "When she said I did it well, I confessed that I'd taken the loom," she recalls. That moment marked the beginning of a textile revolution.
Artesanas del colectivo Domitzu trabajan en sus telares de cintura (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
Silent learning under the mesquite trees
Three generations of women strapped their looms to their waists under the same centuries-old mesquite trees. There were no formal lessons: the girls watched in silence. Knowledge was passed from mother to daughter, from waist to waist, without words.
Retrato de la artesana María Trinidad González García tejiendo en su telar de cintura (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
New experiments
Martina recalls how in the 1970s, FONART (Mexico's National Fund for the Development of Arts and Crafts) requested thinner threads for refined pieces. Martina visited textile factories in Mexico City, experimenting with gauges and textures. "The thin ones look beautiful; the thick ones coarse."
Artesanas del colectivo Domitzu trabajan en sus telares (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
Wool arrives in the valley
This third material brought new challenges. Wool swells with humidity, making it impossible to work with during the rainy season. Martina learned when to use each fiber: "wool during a drought, cotton all year round, ixtle when the maguey is ripe."
Artesanas del colectivo Domitzu trabajan en sus telares (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
A pre-Hispanic challenge
While innovating with materials, Martina perfected the tres alzaderas technique, a highly complex weaving process that involves operating two heddles simultaneously to create double-layered textiles. Today, out of 50 women in Domitzu, only three have mastered this pre-Hispanic art.
La artesana María Trinidad González García mostrando una prenda del colectivo Domitzu (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
Complex work takes time
While a normal loom produces one piece per month, the tres alzaderas process takes two months. "They form like little bubbles between the layers," María Trinidad González García tries to explain. It's three-dimensional geometry made with threads
Retrato de Reyna Resendiz Romero del colectivo Domitzu (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
High fashion with roots
Reina Reséndiz Romero, a designer from San Nicolás, began collaborating with Domitzu, making quinceañera dresses for girls' 15th birthdays with Otomi embroidery and tailored suits with traditional iconography. "This new twist means that Domitzu's designs and the heritage they represent now resonate around the world."
Retrato de la artesana María Trinidad González García tejiendo en su telar de cintura (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
The colors of the earth
Despite everything, Domitzu fabrics get their colors from the earth. This includes the pericón del monte plant for yellows, fermented indigo for blues, and cochineal from the prickly pear cactus for reds. Each dye requires knowledge and takes days of preparation.
Pericón del monte
is a wild plant (Tagetes lucida) used since pre-Hispanic times for its excellent dyeing properties. The craftswomen boil its flowers, stems, and leaves to extract a natural pigment. This process releases warm, vibrant tones ranging from bright yellow to orange.
Indigo
is a famous dye derived from the Indigofera suffruticosa plant. It's known for producing a range of blue tones, from deep indigo to sky blue. The extraction process is complicated. Instead of boiling, the plant's leaves have to be fermented in water, an ancient process that releases the pigment.
Cochineal is a valuable dye of pre-Hispanic origin that, unlike the other dyes, is not plant-based. It comes from a small insect (Dactylopius coccus) that lives as a parasite on the prickly pear cactus. The insects are collected, dried, and ground to extract carminic acid, which produces an amazing range of red, pink, and purple colors.
Tres artesanas del colectivo Domitzu tejiendo en sus telares de cintura (2025-09-26) by Mario Vázquez Sosa Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico
The loom of the future
Nowadays, styles from several eras coalesce in the Domitzu workshop, from the ixtle ayates like those Trinidad's great-grandmother made to the fine cottons that Trinidad introduced for the contemporary designs that she perfects. The revolution was never about giving anything up: it was about exploring new horizons.
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.
