AMAZONAS

LATIN AMERICAN FASHION DESIGNERS

zaapeche (art in black pottery) 

 

The very specific method of making black clay pottery originated in the municipality of San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca, Mexico.  A community located 13 kilometers south of the city of Oaxaca. This town, whose name means "on the hill of the coyote," is known primarily because more than half of its population is dedicated to making black clay pottery, unique in the world and unmistakable for its color and its shiny finish.

The production process begins by collecting clay from the mine, which belongs to the residents of San Bartolo. It is free of charge, as it is a resource that belongs to them. Obviously, the only ones with this privilege and right are the native inhabitants of San Bartolo. They have people guarding the mine to control the clay. This control is shared between the committee and the community members who manage it, as they regulate the clay provided to the community and, as mentioned before, restrict women's access.

Their production process is highly skilled because they use only clay as the raw material, and everything is done by hand. This makes these crafts authentic, as they still maintain their traditional production method, which remains natural, environmentally friendly, and uses only basic tools to refine and shape the pieces. Moving on to the firing process, using the temperatures required for each color, because the black clay achieves that tone due to the temperature used to obtain the black color, without affecting the piece or exceeding the temperature, because the entire production process that is heating up in the ovens is automatically carried out.