Teo Urzua was born in San Cristobel de las Casas, Chiapas, of indigenous parentage but has spent most of his life in Jocotepec, Jalisco. He is the oldest of 10 children and began working at a very tender age in the production of the tiny tule (reed) braids used in the making of the fine Michoacán ranchero sombreros, the ones with the tassel and narrow strap down the back worn by men tending milpas (fields) on the mountainsides. These men also used to wear the traditional grey serapes from the weaving village of Jocotepec. Teo was apprenticed to his grandfather at age 12 and weaving is in his blood and is his passion — it is where all hardships are forgotten.

As an adult, Teo became an innovator in weaving and for seven years taught at the Institute in Guadalajara. He then moved his wife and children to Ajijic where he opened a shop. A patroness of Ajijic, the now deceased, Neil James, used to buy his weavings.

He became a member of the art community in Ajijic, employing many people, both weavers and women who made embroidered blouses. After 10 years, the owner of the building he rented abruptly raised the rent to an impossible amount and Teo, his wife, 13 children, his looms, and all of his inventory were on the street with no way to make a living.

Teo and an experienced friend left for the border. Not speaking one word of English, he ended up working in the fields in Bakersfield, California for the next 15 years, sending all his money back to his family. While in the US, he built a loom in the shack that he occupied and was content on Sundays to weave for children — caracatures of Sylvester and Tweety, and others. A Raggety Ann-type girl holding the "Doves of Peace," one for each continent, is a design he still loves and weaves to this day.

Unable to work in the fields anymore because he discovered he had diabetes as well as lung damage from tuberculosis and the chemicals used in the fields he worked, Teo returned to Ajijic at age 60. Friends helped him set up a loom in the front of a gallery on Colón.

A struggling artist, Janice Kimball, working in the same gallery, began helping Teo bring his loomed work from Jocotepec in her pickup. Today, Janice and Teo are "juntos", a couple. Together, they have created and built a new gallery, Aztec Studios, in Rancho Del Oro, West Ajijic. Teo now weaves incredibly colorful pre-Hispanic-influenced tapestries — Mayan and Aztec, serpents and dragons, reincarnations of dancing animals and parades of the grand noble class. Janice designs the pieces and Teo weaves them.

Most of Teo's work is wall tapestries — each an original true piece of Mexican folk art. Teo has taught his first five children how to weave. However, only one son, Francisco, follows in his father's footsteps. Francisco is a gifted weaver and weaves very small, incredibly intricate pieces.

Francisco works on a mesquite wood loom that dates back more than 300 years. There are very few weavers left under 45 years of age that use this type of loom. Teo knows only of three. This family works very hard, barely able to sustain themselves. Teo is a dreamer and a doer so who knows what the future might bring!

Contact information:
Aztec Studios
Carr. Poniente #232 (1 km west of Ajijic)
376 766 3543
janicekimball@laguna.com.mx

Or contact Marianne Carlson at 01152 376 765 7485 or email mariannecarlson@gmail.com