Mezcal, rugs and tapestries!

Day 7: June 30, 2012

Our day began by visiting a place where mezcal is made. Mezcal is liquor, similar to tequila, which is common in Mexico. It has a smoky taste- I don't 
particularly like it! Mezcal is meant to be sipped. Many eat worms then chase it 
with mescal (I didn't try one) or sip it chase it with a lime covered in worm 
salt. Mezcal has a smoky taste, but there are also different variations, some of 
which are fruit flavored (like Pina colada).

                                                                       

 

 Flat Stanley came along for the ride today! 

Next, we visited a Teotitlan del Valle, a village renowned for it's rugs and tapestries. Abigail, a woman who gave us the demonstration showed us the entire process: carding the wool,spinning it into yarn, crushing different materials such as indigo & marigolds, dying the yarn, & weaving on the loom. They create patterns on the loom, sometimes they are Zapotec patterns, but other times they use their creativity to come up with new designs. The women can work up to two years on one piece. Abigail also runs a restaurant named "Tlamanlli" de Abigail Mendoza Ruiz. Several women made our Zapotec inspired meal which was delicious! Throughout the town there are mostly women working because many of the men have left to cross the border. 


                                       

Side note: The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous civilization that flourished in Oaxaca.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapotec