Boris de Jesús García Ildefonso is showcasing over 250 handcrafted textile pieces at the Original: Encuentro de Arte Textil, Decorativo y Utilitario, which opened Wednesday at the Centro Cultural Los Pinos.
The collection represents a revival of Mazatec textile traditions, incorporating satin and lomillo stitches. García Ildefonso explained that his team of approximately 50 people spent more than six months preparing for the event. The pieces for sale include long and short huipiles, as well as shirts created using a darning technique that involves hand-drawn patterns transferred via charcoal and perforated paper.
His family has long dedicated their efforts to shaping huipiles, dresses, suits, and other garments using ancient techniques from the region, which sits at the convergence of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Veracruz and is noted for its tradition of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
García Ildefonso, who learned the craft from his grandmother, said that he sought to revitalize ancient patterns that had been absent from Huautla for over 50 years. His research included visits to the Museo Nacional de Antropología and various sites in Oaxaca to document lost techniques.
According to the artisan, these methods were influenced by the post-Revolutionary era, when access to urban ribbons allowed for a shift in color palettes. He recalled the difficulty of preserving quality in a market that previously pressured artisans to produce low-cost goods.
“Nuestra técnica está basada en el estilo mazateco, trabajamos con puntos satín y lomillo. Nos enfocamos en crear huipiles cortos, que son nuestra innovación. Tradicionalmente, para las telas se utilizan blanco, rosa y azul, pero hemos añadido nuevas combinaciones y utilizamos otro tipo de listones, como por ejemplo usar lila con verde agua,” said Boris de Jesús García Ildefonso.
Garment production time depends on design complexity. While a simple huipil can be completed in a few weeks, ceremonial pieces require up to a year of labor. Regarding the history of these textiles, García Ildefonso said, “Surge una nueva explosión del color,” referencing the mid-1950s transition when diverse tones like yellow and green were integrated into the local aesthetic.
