Teotitlán del Valle

Teotitlán del Valle

We left for Teotitlán del Valle at 9 in the morning and arrived a little before 10, but despite the short distance it felt like we were in a different world. As opposed to the bustling and rushed people of the city, there were very few walking around the small pueblo, and those who were walked with a slow and curious pace as they passed us. The town is famous for their woven rugs and tapestries, something that was obvious as we began to walk around, seeing all of the shops that cater to tourists, all of the murals and signs proudly talking about the craft, and later when we entered our home-stays and saw the large looms. We were welcomed into the homes of families who are a part of the weaving cooperation called Nueva Vida. The group consists of about 15 women, most of who aren’t married. The group leader, Pastora, a single, middle-aged woman who had lived in Teotitlan her entire life, handed out packets explaining the many different projects completed by the co-op, both old and new. It was amazing to see some of the things they had started. These women have planted trees for reforestation (which they started doing in 2009 and are still continuing it today), made and delivered Mother's day gift baskets to give to older mothers in the community, created trash bins out of old buckets to put around town, and handed out toys to less-fortunate children during the holidays. Throughout the week we got to see weaving demonstrations by the very talented women and loving home-stay moms. We were able to see how time consuming of a craft weaving is, within one week most of the women were only able to complete a couple of inches of their 5-feet long rugs. Some of us were also able to see how the making of the all natural dyes that they use. Natural dyes are prepared very carefully and laboriously, not only in respect to variety and subtlety of the colors, but also how well the fixer is mixed in (usually lime juice, sometimes leaves). Dyes are concocted from a large variety of plant, animal and mineral sources. Among these are lichen, twigs, berries, flowers, pecan bark, walnut husks, alfalfa, etc. Natural dyes have a beauty that no chemical dye can match and do not rub off or fade.

An assortment of dyes before being mixed with water

Daily life in Teotitlan starts out with a very social event: a trip to the market to buy the food for the day. The head of the kitchen, usually the eldest woman or mother/wife, is in charge of deciding what they will eat and what will be purchased. The market is divided into five principle sections: prepared food and tortillas, fresh fruits and vegetables, bread and pastries, goods such as aprons, Tupperware, and pots and pans, and meat. The fruits and vegetables are very ripe and suitable to be consumed that day or the day after. Because the people in the town don't have the capacities to store food for longer the produce is bought daily and scantily. Same goes for the meat. The bread is baked very dry so that it can be stored overnight in the hot climate without it becoming inedible or molding. Because of the nature of the bread and pastries they are commonly eaten dipped in juices, beverages, or hot chocolate/coffee/tea/atole. The market is not just a place to buy food, but also a social experience. Everyone greets each other as they come and go. The town speaks Zapotec and so little Spanish is heard between residents. Family members, long time friends, and tourists all interact here, making it a special and unique place. The market runs from 8:00 in the morning until around 11:00, but most women do their shopping around 9:00. Very few men are seen here, except for those selling things, especially from neighboring towns. This is the start to most families day, for breakfast follows initiating the work day. Another social aspect of the town is basketball. There are quite a few courts throughout the town and is one of the only forms of "nightlife" for everyone from under 10 to those in their 30s. Though its played after the sun sets, the lights on the courts are only used during official games. Even in the dark, the courts are filled with villagers of all ages, playing, watching, and socializing.

Pastora at the loom 

On Tuesday, the group decided to meet up at “La Cuevita.” La Cuevita is a place where many fiestas are held and also a place to go to make ones wishes. It is most commonly known for the New Year’s party where it is filled with everyone from Teotitlan, and even visitors from all over Mexico and other countries. This is one of the biggest fiestas that is held at La Cuevita and once it turns into the new year, everyone makes their wishes for the new year here. There is also a large party that is celebrated in July at La Cuevita. Once we all arrived at La Cuevita, we were shown around a bit by Pastora. She showed us a spot where the cross of Jesus stood, where many people go to pray and make their wishes. She also showed us a small chapel where people also go to pray. After this quick tour, all the chicas and our mothers sat down for a small but delicious lunch (everyone just so happened to bring tortas and fruit). We all then decided to explore a little bit, and see the area. Just before we left, Pastora also told us of another tradition that is common at La Cuevita. Many times if a young couple decides to have a family or get married, and they want to become independent they will come to La Cuevita and build a little shrine or miniature house made out of stone to represent the house that they wish for. They will also put in little dolls, clay figures, or toys to represent them and their family. We found many of these along our walk around La Cuevita. After about an hour we finally relieved our mothers and decided to all go home.

La Cuevita 

Wednesday was Donna’s birthday and oh boy did we celebrate! The morning started off as usual, with a market visit and breakfast, but the rest of the day was dedicated to the fiesta. Donna and Analiz prepared their house for the other families to come, they picked up tables and chairs, a grill, and both piñatas. Halfway through the set-up Donna was told to stop working and to get pretty before her guests arrived. She was presented with a beautifully embroidered traditional blouse to wear and was seated at the long table with bouquets of flowers so that she could greet the guests as they arrived. We all sat together and ate before Donna opened her presents. Then we broke open the piñatas while our moms laughed at our continual failure. It was a day filled with fun, food, and lots of love. It is incredibly evident how tightly knit the community is when they throw fiestas. Everyone worries about what food to bring, what gifts to bring, when to come, if everyone is content, etc. This over-attentiveness leaves everyone, not just the birthday girl, feeling extremely loved and appreciated. We had only known these families for two days but by the end of the party, we didn’t want to ever leave. 

Donna bringing down her piñata 

The women of Nueva Vida 

After Donna’s party we all congregated around a table with our moms in order to learn about one of the biggest differences between our two cultures: language. The majority of the town speaks Zapotec, and indigenous language. The only people in the village who don’t actively speak the language are young kids who speak Spanish in school and with friends and therefore rarely use Zapotec. A few of our moms never learned to speak Spanish because their parents never did and because they had only received a few years of schooling. Therefore, we thought it would be very special to learn a little Zapotec in order to better communicate with our home-stay families. As we began the lesson it became obvious that it wasn’t going to be an easy task. It seemed as if every sound they made was one our mouths had never used. “Ti-si-oobioo”, meaning thank you, is said with a slight z sound at the beginning, but it’s practically whispered, a sound that was incredibly difficult to use. By the end of the lesson, we had learned common phrases such as goodbye, good morning, I love you, this is delicious, and how beautiful. But even after spending an hour trying to make our mouths move in a new way, our moms still had trouble understanding us when we tried to repeat the phrases back to them. But smiles we received after every meal and when we said thank you, in a nearly incomprehensible way, were worth the struggle. Even if we still can’t speak Zapotec. 

Hand-woven tapetes

One of the many projects that the women at the weaving co-op had been working towards was the reforestation of a mountainside just outside of the town. Clearly, a source of pride for their organization, they brought us to the mountainside for a “reunión” on Thursday. Janice, myself, and our host-mom arrived by mototaxi, skillfully driven over dried out river beds and rough terrain. We were early and spent time talking with our mom about all of the new things that we were seeing (including a scorpion and a birds nest made with bits of plastic and brush). We took a moment to enjoy the cold, stream water and relax. When everyone arrived, we trekked up the mountainside to convene and chat about the area. However, it turned into chatting about anything but the mountainside. We asked the ladies of Vida Nueva if they could teach us a song, but nothing was coming to mind, so they asked us to teach them one. It turned into quite the ordeal; demonstrations of Miss Mary Mack and basic childhood songs ran rampant. Analiz then began singing a song in Spanish that the women recognized, but knew a slightly different version of. It was a great moment for everyone: we had found some common ground and were able to share together in a somewhat silly moment, even though we had many differences.

Los árboles

Our last day in Teotitlan started very early with a sunrise hike to the top of Mount Picachu. While we were all sad that our stay in this amazing town was over, all of us were very excited to tackle this mountain. We all met up at the Vida Nueva house at 5:15am and started our journey. The beginning was a bit difficult because of how dark it still was and the rockiness of the path but the view of the town and the surrounding ones at night was amazing.  We had a companion that tagged along with us all the way up to the summit, Toby. He’s one of the many dogs in the town and belongs to Rufina, one of our host moms. He climbed with us all the way to the top, leading the way. We reached the summit around 6:45am and the views were spectacular.  There we all relaxed, ate some fruits, took in all the views, and took lots and lots of pictures. On the way down the mountain, we explored two very small caves that were along the mountainside. Once we reached the bottom we also explored the towns dam and Toby decided to cool off with a quick swim in the water. Overall, this was a fun way of saying goodbye to el pueblo and a fantastic way to start our last day there. 

The summit of Mount Picachu