A&R Visits Rosa and Cristobal

Zinacantán people are easily recognized in Chiapas, because they wear colorful traditional clothing with floral embroidery. Flower-raising is a successful industry in Zinacantan, as a result, floral trees decorate the area. The landscapes in Zinacantan are a mix of mountains, jungle trees, and flowers. The flowers are embroidered in their clothes, reflecting their love for nature and land. The embroidery is made with a sewing machine. The complexity of this technique is in calculating where the needle will be, while sewing in zig-zag mode, also in knowing when the sewing machine will stop since they are using their foot to operate the pedal. An important fact about Zinacantan´s embroidery is that before 1975 the traditional clothing did not have any type of embellishment. It was actually added after a schoolteacher taught them embroidery. And few years later the embroidery was improved with the influence of Guatemalan refugees living in Zinacantan.