The village of Amatenango del Valle, Chiapas is a Maya Tzeltal speaking community located on the Pan American Highway near San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Amatenango is known as “The Chiapas Capital of Pottery” where local women artisans display and sell their works under covered arches along the side of the highway to passing motorists or from their homes/workshops in the village on a commission basis to specific order. The skills necessary to produce the unique pottery of Amatenango have historically been passed down from mother to daughter over the generations.

This passing down of the skills necessary to become an accomplished potter in the Amatenango tradition is the tradition represented by our guest artisans Juana Gomez Ramirez (known in Amatenango as Xhana Compash Otol) and her mother Feliciana Ramirez (“Otol” in Tzeltal) who present their clay productions of birds, jaguars, jaguar masks, water jars and other items they have produced in their home workshop. Señora Feliciana Ramirez first introduced her daughter to the potter’s art by encouraging her to model small animals with clay when she was only six years old as is the tradition in the village where the children are encouraged by their parents to make and sell their creations to passing visitors. Over the years, Juana continued to develop her potter’s skills until she became the accomplished artisan she is today.

Señora Juana Gomez and her mother only produce works to order on a commission basis and their works are typically sold through upscale stand-alone retail outlets and retail outlets affiliated with hotels.

It is the women of Amatenango who make the pottery for which the village is famed while the men follow traditional agricultural pursuits although the men may participate in pottery making by helping the women paint the finished works.

The pottery made in Amatenango is distinctive both for the materials used there and the techniques utilized by local artisans. The sand and clay used for this pottery in unique and only found in the vicinity of Amatenango and local artisans use ancient pottery making techniques handed down to them over the centuries by their ancestors. The clay and sand are mixed to form a paste out of which the hollow pieces are rendered and then the pieces are air dried outside the home/workshop until totally dry. Once the piece is completely dried, imperfections are “sanded” away using a knife or special spoon before the piece is burnished using river stones. Once the piece has been burnished and rendered in its final form satisfactory to the artisan, it is painted or varnished in accordance with the artisan’s chosen finish or, if the piece is made to order, in accordance with the client’s instructions.

Contact information:
Barrio Pie de Cerro
Amatenango del Valle, Chiapas
992 103 6042 cellphone, 992 102 4385 Juana

Or contact Marianne Carlson at (from the US) 01152 376 765 7485 or email marianne carlson@gmail.com.