Pre Colombian Pottery Art- We are going to take you through the history of these beautiful artifact. To know how art in any form was created. It’s magick behind its work of craft. What the symbology of having an artifact mean. Every piece of art has a purpose to serve us. Bring this awareness to your world and watch the magick! . The term “Pre-Columbian art” refers to the architecture, art and crafts of the native peoples of North, Central, and South America, and the islands of the Caribbean (c.13,000 BCE – 1500 CE) The term “Mesoamerica” is synonymous with Central America, describing a cultural region in the Americas, which extends roughly from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica.
The annual Miss Mexico competition has a spectacular category that is an indisputable showstopper. Known as the “traditional outfits” presentation, contestants rock designer-made, artistic representations of the country’s customary clothing. The ensembles are nothing short of incredible and feature sculptural headdresses, fully painted skirts, and, in some cases, woven sandals worn as accents on a dress and as a crown.
Each outfit showcases an expert level of craft with elements that meld traditional and contemporary styles. Each contestant models these garments in a thematic photoshoot. One of the most dramatic and awe-inspiring presentations from Miss Mexico 2020 is worn by Georgina Villanueva, aka Miss Guanajuato. Her look is called María Catrina, and it references traditional “marías” (rag dolls) that are arranged on the black skirt. “The marías are known worldwide, and the design shows two traditions of Mexico, as its name indicates the catrinas, allusive to death, and the marías,” Miss Mexico explains. “The black color means mourning, power, elegance… the makeup was an inspiration from the skulls and traditional hairstyles of our beautiful women.”
Scroll down for more traditional outfits, and look for the winner of Miss Mexico 2020 to be announced on October 31, 2020.
The Miss Mexico 2020 competition has spectacular ensembles in its “traditional outfits” presentation.
Bringing back mangroves: Scientists in Mexico restore degraded ecosystems https://ift.tt/3clRBkS Latin America – “What was this area like three years ago?” I asked researcher Jorge Herrera as we dipped our feet into the warm waters swirling around the trunks of a stand of mangrove saplings in Ciénaga del Progreso, a 40 minute drive from the […] […]
Mexican entrepreneur Omar Sánchez Vázquez has devised a way to transform an invasive species of brown algae, known as sargassum, into building bricks. The brown algae, which traps turtles and fills the air with the smell of rotten eggs, is a threat to both the marine ecosystem and tourism.
The organic, thermal and functional construction material utilises the same technique used to make adobe bricks, although it costs 50% percent less than adobe bricks. The building bricks are also said to be resistant to hurricanes.
Omar Sánchez Vázquez first saw an opportunity in the brown sargassum seaweed to grow his gardening business in 2015, when he spotted that the sea began to dump vast amounts of the algae on beaches of the southeastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo.
Initially he used sargassum as fertiliser at his BlueGreen Nursery and sold small amounts to his customers. Yet at the same time the BlueGreen founder wanted a little adobe house, one that he would build with his own hands, and so took out all the permits needed to patent the first block of sargassum.
In 2018, Omar Sánchez Vázquez erected his first house in just 15 days using 2,000 bricks produced with 20 metric tons of sargassum. The rustic house, which is named “Angelita” in honour of Omar Sánchez Vázquez’s mother, is an exact replica of the house in which he grew up in Guadalajara in western Mexico.
Omar Sánchez Vázquez’s construction team is currently working on two building projects using sargassum. The first is a build of 10 residential homes which will be donated to poor familes, and the second, is a private project in Tulum, also on the Mexican Caribbean, where they are building 40 residential homes.
It is understood that the sargassum bricks could soon be used to build a new eco-hotel in Tulum.
Since the seaweed crisis began in the Mexican Caribbean, numerous projects have been launched to take advantage of the algae, from disposable dishes and cups and shoe soles to its use as a fine-foods ingredient and in exotic drinks.
It wasn’t long before people interested in replicating the sargassum-house model were getting in touch with Omar Vazquez, people from
Countries including Belize, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Barbados, Malaysia and the United States have also been affected by sargassum, which has hit their shores with vast amounts of seaweed daily.
Images Credit: BlueGreen
Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine’s Chief. She writes about lifestyles including sustainable and green living. She also offers content services to businesses and individuals at Rosamedea.com
Hotel Taselotzin, located in the Sierra Norte mountain range of Puebla in Mexico, is a sustainable hotel run by indigenous Nahua women.
Taselotzin, which in Nahuatl means “small plant or shoot”, started life as a hotel “with an indigenous heart” in 1995 as a result of the collective effort of the female-led organisation Masehual Siunamej Mosenyolchiacuani (“Indigenous women who support one another”).
Masehual Siunamej Mosenyolchiacuani was originally set up in 1985 to empower women within the community whilst protecting their indigenous heritage and traditions. Created and managed by more than 100 Nahua women of the region, many of whom are crafts people, the aim of the collective was to help indigenous women sell their crafts at fair prices and to improve their quality of life by creating jobs so to limit the number of community members needing to emigrate.
By 1987, the women’s collective realised that it was not enough to obtain income, and so on the advice of a student from the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM), who told the indigenous women that their embroidery could turn profitable beyond their home community of Cuetzalan, the idea of a community-owned hotel arose.
Cuetzalan, nestled in the northern mountains of Puebla, is a small village rich in indigenous history and heritage that is known for its coffee plantations, greenery, cobblestone streets, waterfalls, and caves.
More than 80% of the town’s inhabitants are of Náhuatl origin and live under customs of ancestral community management. These customs are based on conservation and respect towards nature, which have helped prevent the arrival of mining businesses into the area. The remote village has also become popular with conscious travellers looking to experience indigenous customs and traditions.
Hotel Taselotzin – which came about to provide work, preserve culture and halt migrations to big cities and other countries – is preserving the region’s indigenous way of life. Located a 10-minute walk from the city centre of Cuetzalan, Hotel Taselotzin offers basic accomodation decorated simply with Nahua symbols in the 14 bedrooms, a restaurant serving native dishes, traditonal crafts and herbal remedies sold at the hotel, and spa services which include a temazcal sweat lodge and massages.
Rufina Edith Villa, the Nahuatl leader who manages Hotel Taselotzin, said: “In a council meeting we considered this dream [Hotel Taselotzin]. What we wanted was to have our own resources, and not depend on any institution.”
More than 100 indigenous families benefit from the profits of the hotel, which enables indigenous women to be empowered. All profits are distributed among the community members, depending on their participation, during the annual meetings. The crafts are sold under a fair-trade policy and these profits are invested into a fund established to encourage continual product development. In addition, the hotel has its own microcredit system, which is accessible to all members in case of need.
The women say that each room at Hotel Taselotzin and each space is embedded in the pacha mama, the mystical earth mother. The spirit of the pacha mama is said to sip into the rooms, blessing the mountains and Cuetzalan.
Sustainability is a natural part of everything the women’s collective do at Hotel Taselotzin. The hotel participates in composting, and the women also support and partcipate in the conservation of green spaces.
Rufina Edith Villa added: “This place is rooted in nature and our hotel is like a plant, if we do not take care of it, it can wither. It is up to us.”
Hotel Taselotzin does not currently have its own website but rooms can be booked via Booking.com and other online travel companies
Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine’s Chief. She writes about lifestyles including sustainable and green living. She also offers content services to businesses and individuals at Rosamedea.com
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