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Cochin cochinilla y limones
P1040918
San Bartolo Cochineal
Santo Tomas Loom
San Miguel Silk Cloth
San Pedro Silk Backstrap
Santa Ana Yarns
Silk threads

Behind every bolt of cloth stands a weaver whose name and village often travel with the finished piece. The artisans of Santo Tomás, San Bartolo, Santa Ana, and surrounding communities are recognized across Mexico for the richness and precision of their work. By integrating ancient techniques with contemporary design, they have helped Zapotec traditions remain vital rather than museum-bound, ensuring that the future of handwoven cloth is woven by the same hands that keep the past alive.

Color is the language through which these weavers speak. Cochineal red, drawn from tiny insects cultivated on prickly pear cactus, mingles with the warm gold of wild marigolds, the deep indigo of traditional dye plants, and the bright citrus tones of locally grown materials. Each shade is coaxed from the landscape itself, transformed through patient simmering and careful hands. The result is cloth that seems to glow from within, as though the hills and skies of Oaxaca had been pressed directly into the warp and weft.

In the highlands of Oaxaca, weaving is far more than the production of cloth. For generations, Zapotec families have transformed silk, cotton, and natural fibers into textiles that carry memory, identity, and story. The rhythm of the backstrap loom and the wooden treadle loom echoes through villages where every thread is a continuation of an ancient conversation between maker and material, a living archive held in the hands of weavers who learned their craft long before the first visitors arrived.

The documentary traces this integration of past and future with patience and care. Through cinematography that captures the sounds of the loom, the texture of dyed yarns, and the quiet focus of weavers at work, the film illustrates how Zapotec people have retained their culture across thousands of years. It celebrates not only the finished cloth but the extraordinary process behind it, inviting viewers to witness the art of weaving as it is still practiced today.

Since the project's earliest screenings and lectures, audiences have responded to the beauty of the people and landscape portrayed on screen. Reviews have highlighted the film's ability to honor both the technical mastery of Zapotec weavers and the human richness of their villages. Whether viewed in a community hall, a university auditorium, or a private gathering, the documentary opens a window onto a way of life where cloth remains a thread connecting generations.

Contemporary Textiles from Ancient Oaxacan Traditions

Reviews

Great Film!

This is a lovely film that gives you a peek into the lives of some very talented artisans in Oaxaca, Mexico. I took this film to Kazakhstan in April and with Carolyn's blessing showed it to my natural dyeing workshop participants. They loved it! It didn't matter that the film was in neither Russian nor Kazakh - textiles have a universal language. The film led to a very lively discussion about how could the weavers in Mexico be doing what looked to be Kazakh ornaments( motifs) in their carpets. They were excited to see the different styles of looms and were fascinated at how silk was spun up in the Sierra Norte. And they loved the sound track! This film is suitable for the enthusiast and expert alike, it is a fantastic teaching tool with close-ups, good explanations and you can really see what love the artisans have for their craft. Good Job Carolyn!

~Linda LaBelle (Brooklyn NY)

Rave Review!

Woven Lives is absolutely awesome! The information it gives on the weavings and the weavers of Oaxaca is both faithful to the subject matter and sensitive to the people and their stunning arts. I showed the video to the students in my "Mexican Arts and Cultures" class at the Kansas City Art Institute, and their reactions were very positive--there were audible "wows" and gasps during the showing; and afterwards it was clear that the students had not only enjoyed the video but also had learned from watching it. Woven Lives is a great supplement to classes that have to do with non-Western cultures and their crafts.

~Richard Anderson (Professor of Anthropology, Kansas City Art Institute)

Woven Lives: A Feast for the Visual Senses

This documentary film is a visual feast for the senses that takes us on a sensory journey across Oaxaca, Mexico. Here we meet the exemplars - the outstanding artists, artisans, and curators who are keeping the weaving traditions alive. This film captures sense of place, history, culture, and diversity. It creates a vital thread from past to future, linking the emotional and aesthetic work that goes into the creative process with the economic implications of survival for the art and the culture. Featured are extraordinary weavers who work on the two-harness floor loom, the back-strap loom, and use fly shuttle weaving. We learn about the process of cultivating, spinning and weaving silk. We understand the environmental and sustainable responsibility for using natural dyes, and the importance of finding world markets to sell so that the culture endures. The film features several of my favorite weavers: Federico Chavez Sosa, Erasto "Tito" Mendoza Ruiz, and Abigail Mendoza. It also includes commentary by my friends Eric Chavez Santiago, education director at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, and Janet Chavez Santiago, a linguist and weaver. There is so much that this 1:16:19 DVD film by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Carolyn Kallenborn covers in such a relatively short period. And you can choose to watch in English or in Spanish. We hear the Zapotec language spoken and how its revival is a way to sustain cultural traditions. We appreciate weaving as a community endeavor to support generational continuity. We learn how designs are created on the tapestry loom extrapolated from archeological stone carving. We see how the cochineal bug is cultivated on the prickly pear cactus and the chemical oxidation of indigo. To ground us, life in Oaxaca is interwoven throughout. We discover how American students can intern with Oaxaca weavers for cultural exchange. We realize that it takes 20 days to hand spin enough silk to make one shawl and five days to weave it. We come to value the time and energy it takes to work by hand -- to wash, card, spin, dye and weave a quality textile. Carolyn Kallenborn's in-depth film is ambitious, comprehensive, and compelling. It is a must-see for every lover of woven art, every student and teacher who is involved in the creative process, and all who want to know more about Oaxaca and its extraordinary textile traditions. by Norma Hawthorne, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC. We have a selection of Federico Chavez Sosa's rugs for sale. 100% of the proceeds go directly to the weaver. See oaxacaculture.com

~Norma Hawthorne