Presentación

Affection for Oaxaca

Cariño a Oaxaca (“Affection for Oaxaca”) is the title of a book published in 1938 by Jacobo Dalevuelta (“Jacob Turn-it-around”), the pseudonym used by Fernando Ramírez de Aguilar, a Oaxacan journalist and literary critic (1897-1953). Page after page, drop by drop, his text distills love for his homeland, its people and their customs. We evoke the work of Dalevuelta, as we present a new exhibit of textiles at the MTO, because it’s the affection for Oaxaca that explains the presence of every one of these works of art at this museum: all of them were donated to us in recent years by collectors originating in other areas of Mexico, and in other countries of the world, who spent time in our state and grew fond of its light, its sky, its mountains and its human fabric, as they were described and praised by Ramírez de Aguilar.

In previous shows we have highlighted the diversity of fibers, dyestuffs, techniques and designs which characterizes Oaxacan textiles. We may appreciate the same features in this new selection of weavings and embroideries which come from seven of the fifteen first nations, and which represent seventeen of over sixty indigenous languages spoken in the state. Though our donors did not intend it so when they put together their collections, and though we did not seek to make it visible as we chose the pieces to be shown, the ensemble of textiles that now hangs in this hall illustrates vividly the dexterity and the wealth of styles in the hands of Oaxacan women who follow Arachne. According to a fable recorded by Ovid, that talented young woman outdid the immortal Minerva in a spinning and weaving contest, so the aggrieved goddess turned her into a spider. As a counterpoint to Western classical literature, in the oral tradition of the Mixtec communities of the coast of Oaxaca, it was a spider who inspired the grandmothers to devise the loom, after they admired her web, which aroused their curiosity and spurred their reflections.

Like other cultural spaces in Mexico and throughout the world have experienced, the past fifteen months of the pandemic have been for the MTO the period of deepest introspection and collective reflection since the museum was founded. It seems the right time to mount this show just now, when uncertainty dominates the global agenda once again, as we confront the spread of more infectious mutants of COVID-19. In the face of growing fear and individualistic isolation, we are bound together by communal ties which have been entwined between us like a merciful spiderweb, which dispels sadness and hopelessness. Through this exhibit we would like to express our gratitude to the people who believe in our work: we wish to make manifest our dream to keep spinning a beautiful yarn together, guided by our love for Oaxaca and for Mexico.

Alejandro de Ávila B

Curator

Museo Textil de Oaxaca