Benita Martinez

Benita Martinez Sosa started learning how to weave when she was 8 years old and by the time she was 12 she knew how to weave. She was taught by her parents and grandparents in her hometown of Teotitlán del Valle, in Oaxaca, Mexico. This tradition has always been a family tradition and is very well known in her town. This cultural tradition is practiced by all the members of her family, from siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts, uncles and extended family.

Living Cultures Grant Program

2023

Creating a Web Page to Promote Zapotec Textile Art and Demonstration

Benita Martinez Sosa received funding from Living Cultures to support the creation of a website that can publicize and promote Zapotec textile art, her family tradition for many generations, and use social media for demonstrations on the tradition.

Apprenticeship Program

2023

Zapotecan Sarape Weaving
with Mentor Estela Sosa Bautista

During this apprenticeship, Benita Martínez Sosa will apprentice with her mother, Estela Sosa Bautista to master the specific strategies for making a sarape by herself. She will practice creating natural dyes and weaving on a large loom.

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