Artisan - Claudia Patricia Perez Vazquez
San Pedro Chenalho, Mexico
My story is both very sad and happy. When I was nine years old, we were displaced with my family from our home and I lost everything. Even the opportunity to study. We left with nothing and we spent 4 or 5 years in a shelter in San Cristobal where they taught us to write, read and draw. We had to beg for rotten fruits and vegetables in the market with my grandmother because we had no money to buy them. I felt very sad and cried a lot because we didn't know how to work to earn money. When the violence calmed down, my grandfather took us to his house in Chenalhó to live with him. Once living in Chenalhó, I began to study online at INEA and from there my mother taught me to embroider and weave. My mom was my best teacher and when I learned to embroider I felt happy because every garment I make is with love, with affection and happiness. Little by little, more people got to know me and my work and they invited me to exhibitions and in 2018 they gave commissioned me to make the belt for the boxer El Canelo Alvarez and since then my life changed.