ABeCedarios

Cynthia Weill's fascination with the crafts of Oaxaca began while she was working in Mexico as a Fulbright exchange teacher. She has published several books in the Mexican Folk Art series, which features different folk art of Oaxaca. Many of the figures showcased in this series are now part of the permanent Mesoamerican Anthropology collections at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. Cindy lives in New York City and can be found online at cynthiaweill.net.

K. B. Basseches is an artist, photographer, and writer whose work has been exhibited and published nationally. She has taught in elementary through graduate schools, most recently at the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to teaching, she served as a staff photographer for the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Basseches holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland and master's degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and George Washington University. ABeCedarios is her first work for children. K. B. Basseches lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, young son and elderly cat.

Armando and Moisés are the grandsons of Manuel Jiménez, founder of the Oaxacan woodcarving tradition. In the late 1950's, shepherd Manuel Jimenez began making wooden animals. The pieces were bought by a folk-art store owner in Oaxaca City. When the creatures were quickly purchased by tourists, Manuel was asked to make more. Seeing Manuel's success, other local artisans began to imitate his work.

Today more than eighty families in the pueblo of Arrazola make their living by carving wood. The town lies below the archeological ruins of Monte Alban. Many tourists, after a visit to the ruins, come to Arrazola to buy wooden figures. Carvers use the copal tree which grows plentifully in the mountains around their town. They make all sorts of things from the wood. To begin the process of making a figure, Armando and Moises first carefully look through their wood pile. They say they can see the creature inside of each log. Next, they carve the figure with a large knife called a machete. When completed the figure must dry for several days.

Everyone in the family helped to make the pieces featured in ABeCedarios. Moises's children, Nancy and Eduardo, and Armando's son Alex sanded the pieces. Then Armando and Moises's wives, Antonia and Oralia, painted each figure.