Doña Tina learned how to weave through observing and then imitating her mother. To Tina, weaving symbolized a game surrounded by fascinating movements of her mother’s hands. Each nger would glaze over the threads on a belt loom. Both magical and amazing, Tina at rst had a hard time believing that a person could create a garment out of colorful cotton.

Tina remains a tireless woman who ful lls many tasks that include such things as tending to her house and helping out her husband in the eld. She plants, cultivates and harvests both white and brown cotton called coyuche. Despite the fact that coyuche is very dif cult to cultivate, Tina and her husband perform an amazing job when it comes to growing and picking the cotton.

Besides working with cotton and weaving, Tina promotes and teaches textile techniques to her community. She works with a cooperative group known as “La Flor de Xochistlahuaca,” where women unite to demand better pay for their labor and merchandise.

Fine Embroidered Cotton Huipiles