The legend of
Black Clay
OAXACA
To speak of Oaxaca is to speak of a land full of magic, color, and tradition.
Its customs, music, gastronomy, history, but above all its ART, are intertwined to give meaning and identity to a syncretic culture, where past and present come together and flourish in endless artistic forms.
The town of San Bartolo Coyotepec belonging to the District of Ocotlán is known for its long pottery tradition.
Formerly as until today, the artisans continue to extract the clay from an open-air mine that is on the slopes of Cerro del León, which provides them with their work material.
A very old popular belief says:
“… the mine that supplies clay to the artisans of San Bartolo Coyotepec, which they call Guegove, should not be entered by women or people from outside the population, since the guardian spirit or nahual can get angry and cause the ground to become rough.”
With water and clay as material sustenance, artisans transform the dust of the earth with their hands as the only tool, sculpt what their imagination and heart dictate as an essential element to give life to their sculptures, engaging in a dialogue with what divine, with the world and representing the feeling of the community.
