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The Dreamweavers Exhibition and Sale, Puerto Escondido’s annual cultural celebration is back! And it’s bigger and better than ever. The 11th annual Dreamweavers Exhibition and Sale will be taking place on January 26, 2020 and you don’t want to miss it.
This cultural event features weavings from the Tixinda Cooperative in Pinotepa de Don Luis, a community high in the mountains above Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico. With each purchase you’ll be helping the women of this community preserve an ancient tradition and support their families.
Read more about harvesting Tixinda dye in our first-hand account of a journey with one of the shell-dyers in our post on Quest for Mexico’s Sacred Snail of Mexico
The women of the Tixinda Cooperative weavers create magic on their backstrap looms, weaving colourful huipils (tunic dresses), bed linens, table cloths and smaller items such as wallets, purses and pillows. The dyes are all-natural and quite rare.
They use yarn dyed blue from the anil (indigo plant), red from crushed cochineal (cacti bugs) and Tixinda, the sacred purple dye “milked” from a rare Purpura sea snail found in a remote bay between Huatulco and Puerto Escondido. It can take the milk from 1000 snails to dye one reboso (shawl). The weaving is rare, beautiful and highly-prized by collectors.
Other Highlights of the Dreamweavers Exhibition in Puerto Escondido
But the event isn’t just about weaving. Over the past decade, attendees have discovered museum quality work created by other master artisans such as Irene B. Aguilar Alcantara, Josfina Aguilar and other members of the Aguilar family, renowned folk art craftspeople from Ocotlán de Morelos. Irene is best known for her sculptures of musicians, Frida Kahlo, ”women of the night” and catrinas, the elegantly dressed female figures for Day of the Dead.
The mermaids, fantastical figures and Virgens of Soledad all captured moments of daily pueblo life and evoked the whimsical humour of Mexican folk art ceramics.
The Dreamweavers Exhibition and Sale also invites special guests to participate. In past events, attendees have been able to purchase work by PINTANDO PASOS, a community of painters in Oaxaca who are preserving Mixteco traditions in modern ways and have been featured in Rolling Stone magazine and leading museums.
In 2018, there was an opportunity to assist communities in Oaxaca through an Earthquake Relief Sale featuring the Ikoot Weavers from San Mateo del Mar. The coastal town in the Tehuantepec District was badly damaged during the September 2017 earthquake and purchases of their weavings helped in their economic recovery.
New for 2020
In 2020, there will also be lots to experience at the Dreamweaver Exhibition and Sale. There will be Special Guest Artist Claudia Munoz
Travel Planner
The annual Dreamweavers Exhibition and Sale will held on Sunday January 26, 2020 at the beautiful Hotel Santa Fe’s Cafe Cafetal on Playa Zicatela
Admission: free.
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm (arrive early for the best selection)
Payment: Take cash in pesos.
You Might Also Like These Posts:
- In Search of Mexico’s Sacred Sea Snail
- How to Get from Huatulco to Puerto Escondido
- 8 Weird Foods to Try in Puerto Escondido, Mexico
- Riding Horseback to Atotonilco Hot Springs in Puerto Escondido
- Swimming with the Stars in Oaxaca’s Bioluminescent Lagoon
Dividing her time between Canada, Guatemala and Mexico (or the nearest tropical beach), Michele Peterson is the founder of A Taste for Travel. Her award-winning travel and food writing has appeared in Lonely Planet’s cookbook Mexico: From the Source, National Geographic Traveler, Fodor’s and 100+ other publications.
Read more about Michele Peterson.
Ellen Liversidge
I saw the work of the Tixinda Cooperative last week at the Writers’ Conference in San Miguel de Allende and would like to buy more. Do you know of an online site for purchase? The work is beautiful.
Michele Peterson
Hi Ellen,,,thanks for getting in touch! I’m so glad you had a chance to see the cooperative’s work. It really is incredible stuff and I feel honoured to have been able to see the shell dyers gather the dye from the snails in the sea. I don’t know of an online source but I’ve sent a note to Patrice to see if there is a way anyone can place an order and will post back as soon as I hear.
Michele Peterson
Good news! The Tixinda Cooperative of Pinotepa de Don Luis will be launching an Etsy store and a website. For now, you can contact them at mexicandreamweavers@hotmail.com
Culture Tripper
What a gorgeous purple that weaving is! And the mermaid is adorable. Oaxaca does seem to be a hotbed of exquisite crafts, both ancient and new.
esperanza
What a great way to spend a holiday, enjoying so many unique and wonderful crafts created by such talented artisans!