I made these photos for my friends, the Dixza family of Benizaa, or Zapotec, weavers, when I was living in Oaxaca in 2017.
The Dixza patio, overflowing with flora and crowded with spindles and looms, is the center of the family’s work and life.
The family uses traditional tools and dies, like this metate stained with cochineal.
Leonor is known for her infections smile.
The threads of the tapetes and spun from hand-dyed Criollo wool. The rich magenta color Samuel points to is derived from cochineal, or cochinilla, an insect long-used by indigenous artists in the Americas.
While some of the Dixza designs are traditional, others are collaborations with contemporary artists or pay homage to famous paintings like his Matisse.
Samuel suggested we photograph some of the finished tapetes in the famly’s
