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Jimenez Family

"Hi, how are you? We're the Jiménez family and we've been crafting wool rugs and bedspreads for many generations. This craft was widely practiced even before the Spanish conquest. Today, my son Margarito and I work together to carry on the tradition I learned from my own parents. Ever since we were children, we've lived amid fleece and looms.

"I remember when Margarito mentioned to my father how much he likes the history and tradition of working with wool. That's why I let him help me from the time he was small. He studies hard and also teaches others to weave, as there aren't many artisans like us left.

"To create a weaving, we begin the process by washing, carding and dying the wool. We use natural colors taken from plants as well as some commercial dyes, because natural ones are increasingly more difficult to obtain. We dye the wool in dye vats of boiling water and let it soak up the color overnight. After it dries, we prepare the yarn and weave it on handlooms. When we're finished, we take it off the loom and tie off the warp threads by hand.

"Our work has been recognized in several contests for work in wool, and it's popular with both local people and tourists. I like it when we have special orders to fill, as it's challenging to be able to do this. Our weavings are a part of our life, and each one of them carries a tiny piece of our hearts and those of our ancestors."