When I visited Delfina in her home, the initial impact of seeing her laboring on an extraordinarily beautiful embroidered piece brought tears to my eyes. For me, it is impossible not to feel moved by the object’s beauty, the blend of colors, its texture, and shape. The movement of her fingers as she pushes her needle through the fabric is a work of art in its own right. The love for her work is obvious as she proudly carries on a family tradition that has gone on for generations before her.

Seeing that I was moved by her work, she took my hands, looked into my eyes and told me that there is no higher compliment for an artist than to see in someone’s eyes that they have succeeded in passing on to them the emotion they have tried to empart into their art.

Mexican textiles have existed for more than 5000 years, but now in many villages traditional embroidered blouses (huipils) are worn only by the grandmothers. Mexico's indigenous textile culture is in danger of extinction. The embroidery on blouses and huipils is particular to specific towns and ethnic groups. Women continue to embroider and sell traditional looking blouses and skirts although they have abandoned wearing them themselves. In time, if these women cannot earn a living making the traditional garments, they will be lost to the world, as they give way to more modern apparel.

Delfina like many other folk artisans, sells her work from a small store in front of her home. The tourism that Oaxacan artists rely on for their livelihoods has been in jeopardy over the last year and a half due to civil unrest and travel bans that have kept the tourists away. Bringing Delfina to Feria Maestros del Arte along with other folk artists from Oaxaca will hopefully open the eyes of Feria-goers to the fact that Oaxaca is once again a safe place to travel and seek out the art that Oaxaca has become famous for.