San Miguel Tzinacapan is a large Nahua town located right next to Cuetzalan. There are many women here that continue to wear traditional dress including embroidered blouses, backstrap woven belts and quechquemitls.
Bob Freund 10/26/2005 For more infomation contact:info@mexicantextiles.com

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Selina Gonzalez Nasario
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Josehina Cruz Jaurez, Isabel Felix Cruz
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Tzinacapan is an interesting town which is now almost connected to Cuetzalan because of urban growth. The road out of Cuetzalan passes by the entrance which is deceptively long way from the main road, given the development along the highway. As I usually do I presented myself to the office of the president municipal where I was promptly shaken down for 100 peso for the three of us, one of the officials there. I refused and we got into a bargaining session about how much , eventually I paid 100 pesos as a donation. They were of no help at all, so I do not encourage anyone to stop and talk to them.
After roaming around the town looking for candle makers we found Selina, she was very helpful and showed us her loom and blouses she had embroidered. I purchased a quechquemitl and a nice embroidered blouse, which has a pleated sleeve, which is different than other villages in the region. I continued my search for wax workers, I came to a family who does work the wax but since the village festival had just past they didn’t have any.

The first blouse in the second row was a gift to a friend when we visited there in Oct 2001. At that time, we were driving slowly down the main road and I smelled copal incense burning. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an alter inside a home, we knocked and were welcome in, we spoke for a while and they offered us mole and explained about the mayordomia for the Saint had just been transferred to them. A grandmother came out and gave that blouse to my friend, who is Mexican, but had never been to a village like this. She wanted to pay or give it back, we went outside were I explained to her it was an honor to receive the blouse and that it would be an insult to try and pay for it. However since they were the Majordomos for the saint, I left a donation for the maintenance of the alter. The donation was totally acceptable and welcomed as a positive gesture between us.