The art of weaving San Andres Larrinzar
San Andres Larrinzar is a town and municipality in the state of Chiapas located at an altitude of 2700m above sea level, 1 hour from San Cristobal de Las Casas. Tourists do not usually go there, unless they are on organized thematic trips related to weaving.
San Andres is famous throughout Mexico for its extraordinary hand-loom patterns. The loom used by the weavers of this town is the so-called “telar de cintura”, or a loom, which is hung on a wall or tree on one side and is placed over the woman's hips on the other. First, the threads are placed one by one and stretched on the loom. Then, by passing colored cotton or wool threads through the yarn, unusual geometric shapes are created.
Cecilia, an indigenous Mexican woman, a businesswoman, wife, and mother, introduced me to the extraordinary art of weaving. Her mother taught her how to work on a loom, but at first she wasn't interested in this occupation, she didn't want to create, she preferred to graze sheep. However, the financial situation of the family meant that Cecilia had to start weaving. The family, seeing the patterns she was creating, decided that she had talent and sent her to a special school, where she not only perfected her weaving technique, but also learned how to combine colors and create interesting shapes. It was then that she realized that weaving is not only work, but also cultivating a tradition that is extremely important to the Mayans. All the women you can meet on the streets of San Andres wear a traditional white and pink blouse and a navy blue skirt. Cecilia says that even at home, when she cooks or cleans, she is dressed like this, and she doesn't have a single T-shirt in her wardrobe.
What distinguishes Cecilia's work are the "modern patterns" and pastel colors that are not present in traditional fabrics. What was new for me was her creation of blouses that combine patterns from two different communities of Chiapas.
The wool Cecilia uses comes from the area around San Andres Larrinzar, where sheep graze. She obtains the colors from natural dyes: plants and insects that are available in Chiapas and the neighboring state of Oaxaca. For example, she obtains the pink color from a pest that lives on a cactus, adding lime juice and vinegar makes the color less intense.
Her workplace is her house, which she recently built. At the very bottom is her workshop, while on the terrace she prepares and dyes threads.
For Cecilia, weaving is not just a job, but also a way to cultivate a tradition that holds great significance in Mayan society. The sight of women dressed in traditional clothing in the state of Chiapas is an everyday occurrence, a reflection of the deeply rooted values and cultural heritage of the place.
