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Pedro Romo

"I come from a family of weavers, and at the workshop I still weave on a traditional wood loom. Considering that my family started weaving in 1918, you could say my workshop is a veritable museum.

"Tomás, my dad, learnt to weave in different workshops and in different states, such as San Luis Potosí and Aguascalientes. In 1930 he built his own place at the bottom of a cliff. It meant that every day he had to climb 12 kilometers to reach the city to sell the sarapes he wove.

"As the situation improved he was able to move to another village, closer to the city. That's where I was born, in 1945. I grew up among looms and skeins. I remember how that workshop literally became the thread that got the family together: there were my parents, my grandfather, my 16 siblings, my uncles and cousins, and even some neighbors!

"I now work form that great workshop, only it is somewhat smaller than before due to financial difficulties. There are fewer weavers than before, but our spirit and motivation is as strong as ever.

"My products reveal the knowledge I inherited, as well as the one I have discovered, and that fills me with pride.

"I fear for Mexico's artistic traditions, they are in danger of disappearing as younger generations are disinterested in preserving them. For example, it sadness me to see that none of my six children want to preserve our family legacy. Some of my friends share my concern, so we got together and created a cooperative designed to help preserve Mexican handcrafts, as well as less fortunate artisans. We have come up with a proposal, which we have presented to Jalisco's Instituto de la Artesanía, whereby we offer to teach all that we know to those who have an interest in learning.

"Even though my workshop is small, we keep receiving orders from abroad such as USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe. I also have several pieces being exhibited in museums, galleries, hotels and private collections. Back in the 1970's, we wove about 150 large tapestries replicating the abstract art of Pierre Clerk, which were exhibited at New York's Museum of Modern Art."