CHAPTERS

CONTACT

CHAPTER: 01

Oaxaca

MEXICO

Cocijo: Threads of Mitla

Oaxaca had lived in my imagination long before this project began. Growing up in northern México, the south always felt distant, almost mythological. Oaxaca, in particular, carried a quiet pull for me. I can’t fully explain why, but for years I felt drawn there, as if something about that place was waiting to be discovered.

At one point I even chose to spend one of my birthdays there, simply because it felt like somewhere I needed to experience for myself.

When the time came to begin this journey, I first connected with filmmaker Marco through Instagram. He later introduced me to Ashley, a filmmaker who lives in Oaxaca. Ashley then connected me with Rodrigo, the youngest generation of the family behind Taller Cocijo.

And just like that, the path revealed itself, threads quietly weaving one connection into another.

In San Pablo Villa de Mitla, textiles are more than art. They are part of life itself. In many homes, the loom stands beside the kitchen or in the courtyard, where threads move through patient hands and knowledge travels quietly from one generation to the next.

At one point I even chose to spend one of my birthdays there, simply because it felt like somewhere I needed to experience for myself.

And just like that, the path revealed itself, threads quietly weaving one connection into another.

Among these homes is Taller Cocijo, a family workshop devoted to the creation, preservation, and sharing of Mitla’s textile traditions. Here, weaving is not only a craft, it is a way of honoring those who came before and caring for what must continue.

The name Cocijo carries ancestral meaning. In Zapotec cosmology, Cocijo is the deity of rain, lightning, and fertility, the force that brings life back to the earth. The name reflects renewal, cycles, and the deep relationship between people, land, and tradition.