Margarita Mora, 91, Preserves Ancestral Weaving in Venezuela’s Andes
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 14
Margarita Mora, 91, Preserves Ancestral Weaving in Venezuela’s Andes
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 14
Summary
Mucuchies weaver Margarita Mora, 91, still works at the same loom she first encountered at age 5, sustaining ancestral textile practices in Venezuela’s high Andes.
Those techniques blend Indigenous and Spanish traditions that have largely been displaced elsewhere by electric machinery, making her craft increasingly rare.
Mora said weaving let her earn enough to buy her own clothes and shoes, and she began selling her work decades ago in the remote settlement of Mitivivó.
Her work later brought wider recognition in Venezuela through years as an instructor at the Moconoque School of Trade, Arts and Crafts, a 2008 art-exposition billboard, and multiple honorary degrees.