Acrylic on hand-made paper
51 x 40 cm
While men from rural Oaxaca migrate North for work, and assimilate to more modern life styles, the women are left to maintain the households -- carrying the physical and emotional weight, and sustaining the traditions, throughout the ages. Many elements of the culture have survived from pre-hispanic times, despite the layers of dominant culture piled on top.
The women in this painting are based on 3 different photos my husband, Chucho, took. The one on the left is from San Marcos Tlapazola, the middle one from Tlacolula, and the one on the right from Santiago Apoala (all villages in Oaxaca).