Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero an Amusgo town with a strong textile tradition. There are various textile collectives which are dedicated to the preservation of the art of weaving. There is a small store in town which sells the work of the artisans to the locals and visitors. .
Bob Freund 4/2/2005 Return to Amusgo home page
For more information please contact: info@mexicantextiles.com

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Xochistlahuaca is a premier weaving town and a cultural center for the Amusgo people. The first example is of a dress huipil taken at a reboso show in Mexico City, it shows the Amusgo brocade at its best. In the third image there are many women dressed in huipil at the time this picture was taken the town was in an uproar as they were sacking the Municipal president (mayor). In many indigenous village corruption is rampant, this day the anger reached the boiling point. The top right image are close ups of the textiles in the collection showing some of the many combinations of traditional patterns.

The bottom left is one of the two huipils in the collection purchased in 1972 along with the skirt, there are still women that wear the skirts strung over the shoulder but more common today is the summer dress style with straps. Also pictured is a rack of the new style huipil or day-to-day lace. The final picture is some of the different huipils taken at the collective in town. The collective is well known and publicized unfortunately the day I visited this year they were busy and could not explain more about their goals. The huipils in their store cost more than in markets in Mexico City, which surprised me. There is a movement in Mexico to call this weaving art, which while is true to some degree it raises expectations about the value of the work and does not take into consideration the world market prices.