Once upon a time in Oaxaca – during the early colonial times, the production of silk was one of the main cultivated products, along with cochineal dye, for export. In the area of the Mixteca, were most of the recorded villages of silk production are located, this persisted until trade with the Spanish colonies of the Philippines replaced it – and a local plague on the silk worms finished it off. But it never completely died in Oaxaca and while silk thread was still special and often reserved for the highest class levels of priests and caciques (chiefs), the humble people still wore silk fajas (belts) and silk symbols and patterns were sometimes woven into of their traditional garments.
When I learned there was a family reviving the cultivation of silk in the nearby rug weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle, the next thing I knew I had signed up for a a video documentary workshop coordinated by Norma Hawthorne’s organization- http://oaxacaculture.wordpress.com/. The teachers were Erica Rothman and Jim Haverkamp, both professional videographers from North Carolina and the Duke Center for Documentary Studies.
This endeavor was all with the idea of visually capturing the revival of silk production in Oaxaca.To say it was an intense 5 days, is an understatement, as it was my first time holding a video camera. My supreme luck was in having, as my partner, Pam Holland. a world class quilt maker and visual artists, so together we accomplished a 7 minute exploration (with a lot of editing help from Jim) telling the story of the ‘Revival of Silk’ by Arte Seda (Silk Art) the family business of the Reynoldo Sosa of Teotitlan del Valle.
This short documentary shows the process of creating a silk scarf, from the tending of the tiny silk worm eggs to the natural dyeing of the finished woven scarf…hopefully answering the initial question, “Why are these things so expensive?”
The Reynoldo Sosa family would be happy to have you visit their home and production place featured in this video. They are located on Av. Juarez # 4, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Tel: (01-951) 52 4 41 19
arte-seda@hotmail.com
Living Textiles of Mexico 