Gateway El Salvador
Handcrafts/Petates
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Petates have been a part of the culture since Mayan times. Originally and to this day, they are used as a bedroll. Farmers would carry them on the backs when traveling throughout the country. The town of Tecapan, in the department of Usulatan has created a new way of sustaining the art of the "Petate" by painting traditional scenes.
The People of Tecapan
Not a month or sometimes a week goes by that festivities, music, and laughter occurs in this small town. Be it a parade and a marching band or a day to honor individuals, the people gather in the streets to have a good time. To gossip, laugh, and leave their troubles behind. An antidote to the realities of struggling to provide food and shelter.
Stone by Stone-Women of Tecapan
Tecapan is in the process of making a plantation house the center of hope and inspiration. They have chosen the name, "Stone by Stone" as inspired by St. Francis of Assisi as he built his first stone church in Assisi, Italy. "We shall work step by step," declare the women of Tecapan. Women are gaining more and more equality but there are still few jobs in rural areas other than coffee picking during the two months of harvest.
The plantation facilities will serve as a learning center to educate and establish new artisan markets such as the Petates. Weaving and painting Petates is a way of keeping alive one of the oldest cultural artworks. Each Petate is handpainted and ready to hang.
For further information where you can obtain a Petate or have one commisioned, please contact: Connie Samayoa at: mylatinviking@yahoo.com
or by phone:
U.S (415) 468-2100
