Mexico is well known for its crafts and colours. Nevertheless, these handmade items made by experienced crafters vary in motives, colours and forms from one another from region to region, depending on the indigenous community that lives there.
Three years ago, I had the chance to volunteer with one of these communities in a boarding school, called Estipac, aimed to young women and men, where they learn about working in the countryside. While huicholean women, that attend Estipac, were resting from their everyday chores, they would take out their colourful crystal beads, a really fine needle and nylon thread and would start creating magic!
They tried teaching me how to create these beautiful pieces, but I have to admit it was really difficult. The needle is .8mm thick so that it can go through the 1mm crystal bead (chaquira) hole! It took me at least 20 minutes to put the nylon thread through the needle hole! Once you have it, you start looping and knotting the chaquiras together in order to create different forms! The finer the work is, the prettier it is (and the harder it gets)! Also, in order to put the chaquira over wood, clay or any other material they paste each chaquira bead with a special resin onto the material.
Huicholean men and women make necklaces, brooches, pendands, bracelets, masks, and even a Vocho Huichol! Which means a VW car that is covered with all these chaquira beads. Just amazing!
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