Maria Guadalupe Santiago Sanchez
Fine Embroidery

The work of Maria Guadalupe Santiago Sanchez is an incredibly fine embroidery style.

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.

Why are Mexican textiles disappearing? Around the world indigenous cultures are under pressure from the forces of modernization and globalization. In Mexico, years of government neglect and a persistent racism have created an economic desperation which has forced generations of men and women to flee the poverty of their communities. These indigenous people immigrate to the big cities of Mexico and the USA. Traditional dress marks them as indigenous, and in a society where being an “Indian” puts you at the bottom of the social ladder, that is not good. So for decades, as people leave the communities, they leave behind their ancestral knowledge of how to weave and embroider in hopes that the social identity and the knowledge is preserved.

Maria Guadalupe still uses ancient cultural motifs in her work. In some villages each weaver has her own secret motifs with cosmic meanings that are never revealed or sold to tourists. Grandmothers recite the old lore to little girls as they learn the craft, thus passing on the legacy.

Maria like many other folk artisans, sells her work from her home and local markets. 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 Maria 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.

We are welcoming Maria for the first time to Feria Maestros del Arte. She joins a busload of other Oaxacan artists who are worthy of your perusal - just look through the list and you will find that we have put together some incredible talent for this year's show. If you are interested in purchasing his work, call Marianne Carlson at 011522 376 765 7485 or email mariannecarlson@gmail.com