The devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe captured the imagination of fiber artist Linda Hanna when, as an early teen, she visited Mexico with her family and saw believers crawling on their knees up to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Blouse by Teresa Silvia Tzintzun, San Pedro Zipiajo, Michoacán (Purepecha).
Detail of blouse by Teresa Silvia Tzintzun, San Pedro Zipiajo, Michoacán (Purepecha).
The Virgin’s appeal continued to deepen when Linda moved to Oaxaca in 1997. Thus the seeds/threads of the exhibition, “Rosas y Revelaciones: Homage to the Virgin of Guadalupe by Mexican Textile Artists” were sown/sewn.
Blouse by Marcolina Salvador Hidalgo, Chachahuantla, Puebla (Nahua).
Detail of blouse by Marcolina Salvador Hidalgo, Chachahuantla, Puebla (Nahua).
The legend of La Virgen de Guadalupe is known to every Mexican, every person of Mexican descent, and probably every foreigner who calls Mexico home. The image of this dark-skinned Virgin who spoke Náhuatl is as imprinted on the national consciousness as she was on Juan Diego’s legendary tilma (cloak).
Dress by María Guadalupe Santiago Sánchez, San Antonino Castillo Velazco, Oaxaca (Zapoteco).
Detail of dress by María Guadalupe Santiago Sánchez, San Antonino Castillo Velazco, Oaxaca (Zapoteco).
Her image has continued to appear on cloth, albeit with human, not divine, intervention. Both Father Miguel Hidalgo in the Mexican War of Independence and Emiliano Zapata, one hundred years later, during the Mexican Revolution, led their troops under the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Man’s tunic by Pascuala Vásquez Hernández, Zinacatán, Chiapas (Tzotzil, Maya).
Shawl by Adolfo García Díaz & Delvina Salinas Cruz, Tenancingo, Estado de México.
The Rosas y Revelaciones textile exhibition presents work from 52 communities in ten states in Mexico (Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxacala, and Yucatán) — with the majority being from Oaxaca.
Apron by Valeria García Hernández, San Miguel del Valle (Zapoteco).
Detail of apron by Valeria García Hernández, San Miguel del Valle (Zapoteco).
Linda explained that she gave the artists free rein to let their imagination and expertise be their guide. I suspect these words by Guadalupe Ángela, from her poem, “Virgen de la Creación” (Madonna of Creation) composed for the exhibition, echo their prayers for inspiration and guidance:
Madonna of Creation
pull the image from me, the beauty.
Make it cedar, make it textile, make it
a landscape. May the needle and thread be touched
by you.
Ruana by Erasto (Tito) Mendoza Ruiz, Teotitlán del Valle (Zapoteco).
When you go, be sure to take the time to watch the video interviews with some of the artisans — the seriousness, devotion, and honor they felt at being selected to participate in this incredibly special project is extremely moving. The show is currently at the Museo Estatal de Arte Popular Oaxaca (MEAPO) (closed on Mondays) in San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca and runs through March 17, 2019 — after which it will be prepared to tour. Its first stop is scheduled for Mexico City in time for Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe on December 12, 2019.
(ps) Linda is hoping the exhibition will develop wings and fly throughout Mexico and eventually to the USA. If you have contacts in the museum world who might be interested in hosting this exhibition, please be sure to contact Linda.
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