Ancient Crafts of the Zapotecs

The Origins of Creation

Ruta: Del Maiz

This journey invites us into the living world of Oaxaca’s ancestral crafts — traditions that continue to shape daily life and carry stories from generation to generation. Through clay, fiber, color, and fire, we discover how creation itself has always been part of the cultural identity of this land.

Over many years of visiting these communities, we have built personal relationships with the families who open their homes and workshops to us, creating encounters that are intimate, authentic, and deeply human.

Choose between two routes:

Route Mitla – Earth, Fire & Weaving
Travel east toward Mitla and visit the village of San Marcos Tlapazola, known for its beautiful red clay pottery still shaped by hand using ancestral techniques. Continue to Teotitlán del Valle, where ancient Zapotec weaving traditions remain alive through natural dyes, symbolic patterns, and traditional craftsmanship.
We also visit the traditional candle makers, especially in Teotitlan this dying art has a very important cultural meaning.

Route Ocotlán – Clay, Color & Textile Traditions
Journey south toward Ocotlán to explore some of Oaxaca’s most iconic artisan communities. Visit the famous black pottery tradition in San Bartolo Coyotepec, discover the imaginative carved and painted wooden figures, Los Alibrijes, of San Martín Tilcajete, and continue to Santo Tomás Jalieza, where women still weave by hand using the ancient backstrap loom.

More than a craft tours, these are journeys into the origins of creation — where hands transform earth, plants, and imagination into objects that carry memory, identity, and the spirit of Oaxaca.

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