Zapotec: Weavers of Teotitlan

The Spanish introduced wool yarns and the fixed-frame pedal loom of a type still in use today. The Mexican Revolution saw a celebration of indigenous crafts and the opening of the Pan-American Highway in 1948 brought Teotitlan's weavers to the craft markets of Oaxaca. American importers in the 1970s infused textile production with new energy, resulting in today's dizzying variety of works that range from modernist motifs to Navajo geometrics to ancient and historical patterns reprised in vivid and colourful contemporary designs. Zapotec weavers express their sense of well-being and belonging in what they weave, and the tapestries and rugs that are currently produced reconcile ancient history with the ways of the 21st century marketplace.