Manos de Masiaca
A search for the wire weavers
Not long ago, the wire basket weavers of Masiaca had a successful small industry, but over the last couple of decades it seemed to have faded away. Not to mention the wool weavers literally dying off.
The village of Masiaca is about an hour drive southwest of Álamos, on the other side of La Sierra, and right up the road from the Gulf of California.
This past winter Jen, Elly, Salina and 16 month old Belinda set out on a mission to see who we could find still weaving with wire. We stopped at a convenience store to ask where we could find some wire baskets. “Ramona ‘Doña Monchis’ en Choacalle”, we had a lead. While heading down the dirt road in the general direction we were given (her house is near the water tower), we were magnetically pulled to what appeared to be an al fresco eatery. Decorated with seashells, plastic flowers, native Mayo murals, piñatas and more. “Turym”, read the hand painted sign out front, along with a list of regional dishes.
We were greeted by Rosy and Jesus, the owners of the establishment. Their sunny dispositions and passion for sharing the traditions of their regional cuisine quickly had us feeling right at home. We let them know we were on a quest for baskets and other handcrafted goods, and that we were looking for Doña Monchis. Jesus told us to sit and enjoy our meal, and that he would go find Monchis.
As we we're finishing up our gorditas, pellizcadas and wakabaki (regional dishes including a garbanzo stew!), Jesus returned on his motorbike with Doña Monchis sitting behind him! She hopped off the back of the bike with a large bag filled with wire baskets. She greeted us all with a hug and a big smile. She knew she would be making some sales today.
Ramona sat down with us and we offered her a cafe colado. We looked at all the baskets and chose which ones we wanted to buy. We talked about ALAMANOS and shared the vision with her. Jesus and Rosy were in and out of the conversation, and Jesus offered to lead us to his aunt’s house, Doña Chole (Soledad, a wool weaver). Ramona was excited to join us, and she said she had more baskets to show us back at her house.
Monchis joined us in our car, Jesus on his motorcycle, and we followed him down the dirt road towards Doña Chole’s. When we arrived, Jesus told his aunt we were looking for weavings, and she came out with some beautiful hand woven and naturally died small tapetes. Chole spoke to us about some of the women who also wove with wool had died a couple years ago, and how the wool is hard to come by these days (goats and cattle take precedent now). We purchased all three of the wool mats she had and let her know we appreciate her work and were grateful she was still practicing her craft. (Since this visit she has called us letting us know she has more to sell. Yay!)
We took Monchis back to her home where we met her husband Don Inés and purchased some more baskets. We also made an order with them of more baskets to include in the collection that is now starting to appear in our goods market!
All in all, our first ALAMANOS research and development trip to Masiaca was very fruitful! Since then we have gone back several times to pick up more baskets from our order, and make connections with other artisans in the area. We cherish our relationships with these makers and hope to continue making a difference in their lives, as well as showcasing regional crafts with our ALAMANOS network.
