Plants and Folk Art in Mexico

Many of the plants mentioned in this site not only are food crops in
Mexico and Mesoamerica, they also serve a variety of uses for folk art
and textiles.

Want to learn more about Mexican Folk Art? Check out Festival of
Mexico.

For example, the fibers of the maguey cactus can be used in weaving
baskets, rope and clothing. The famous tilma (a large cloth shirt, or
sarape) of Juan Diego that bears the miraculous image of the Virgin of
Guadalupe was supposedly made of maguey. This maguey fiber was
used by the peasant class in Aztec society for their clothing, as cotton
was only reserved for the ruling class. See this site about the Virgin of
Guadalupe for more information.

Sandals from various plant fibers including maguey are also used today.
The Nahuatl word for sandals is cactlis, and they were tradtionally used
only by the higher social classes in Aztec society.

As we mentioned before, amaranth mixed with human blood was used
to make sculptures of Aztec gods.

Additionally, in modern Mexico, varieties of seed pods from leucaena
trees, (called guajes in Mexico) are used to make jewelry and various
kinds of folk art. This colorful fish was made from a guaje and small
clay sculptures attached to the top. It also doubles as a rattle as the
seeds are still inside. Many of these seeds also serve as medicinal teas
and food. See this site from Purdue University for more information.

Moreover, beans, corn and other seeds are often used to make large
religious sculptures and murals during festival time. The variety of
beans and seeds serves as a huge palette of color for these creative
designs. This is a sample photo of a huge bean and seed mosaic that
can be seen in the city of Tepoztlán, in the state of Morelos.

Learn more about Mexican Folk art at Festival of Mexico.

The Tradition and History of “Popotillo,” Mexican Straw Painting
An Interview with Teresa Ruiz Rivera de Torres from the Workshop
“Popotillo y Color”

The workshop “Popotillo y Color,” located in Mexico City, is an award winning group of artisans
who work mostly in the ancient Mexican tradition of “popotillo,” or colored straw painting. Teresa
Ruiz Rivera de Torres and her husband José Alfonso Torres Martinez work together with four
other family members to create these wonderful paintings that cross the line between fine art and
folk art.

The workshop is now six years old, with six members currently making art. Their work can now
be seen in Mexico City’s Museo Nacional de Arte Popular (The National Musuem of Popular Art).
Theresa and the other artists were recently interviewed by Canal 11, a public television station
based in Mexico City that features programs on culture and art. In 2005, they were invited to
participate in an art exhibit in Spain.

In 2004, José Alfonso won first place for best original painting in the prestigious art show “Los
Motivos de Las Artesanías, Símbolos del Distrito Federal” for his painting “El Coyote
Emplumado” (“The Plumed Coyote”). This painting is a work in popotillo that features a pre-
Hispanic design.

The History of Popotillo

We recently visited Teresa at her home, and asked her to talk about their work and the history of
popotillo painting. She explained that there is not much in the way of information published on
the history of popotillo. What is known is that popotillo straw has been used by the indigenous
populations of central Mexico both for art and for domestic purposes since before the arrival of
the Spanish.

Popotillo (“thin straw” in Spanish) is a type of sacaton grass (genus: Sporobolus) that has been
used since pre-Columbia times in various forms of folk art. This kind of straw is also commonly
used to make brooms. It is also known as “popote de cambray” in Spanish. In pre-Hispanic
times, natural dyes such as cochineal were used to color the straw. These days, the dyes are a
combinational of natural and artificial dyes.

Teresa also explained that recent Chinese immigrants to Mexico brought a similar form of art to
Mexico known as straw patchwork art. This is an ancient Chinese folk art that dates from the Sui
Dynasty (581 - 618 AD). It is thought that Mexican and Chinese artisans recognized the similarity
of their work and thus shared ideas and techniques.

Popotillo Techniques

To make these paintings, the artist must first hand-dye the raw popotillo several different colors.
Then, they draw out a design. Next, the artist places a very thin layer of a special bee’s wax known
as “cera de Campeche” over the design. “Cera de Campeche” is also used by the Huichol
Indians for their bead and yard designs.

The straw must be cut and organized according the needs of the artist and the painting. The
pieces of popotillo can be as small as 1milimeter in length. The tiny pieces of straw are then
pressed carefully into the wax. After completing the painting, a fixer is applied so that the delicate
pieces of straw will stay in place. The artisans then frame all their pieces with hand-made
frames.

A single painting can take weeks to complete. Teresa and the other members of the workshop
have very unique styles. Teresa enjoys making pre-Hispanic designs from the Aztecs. Silvia
specializes in Dead of the Dead motifs and fanciful animals. You can see a sample of their work
at their website: www.popotillo.com.mx

The other members of the workshop are:

Silvia Torres
Patricia Torres
Ana Torres
Maria Eugenia Torres