There is a rich beauty wrapped in indigenous traditions – and Huichol art is no exception.
Huichol art is recognized by its colorful decorations using sacred symbols and designs. You may see ‘yarn’ paintings, created by pressing yard and beads into boards coated with wax and resin. One design can take months to create. The colors can be spectacular.
The Huichol are an indigenous people who live in a remote area surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains in the north part of the state of Jalisco. Their remote location has kept them separated from much of the world – only recently have some of them moved from this area to sell their art.
Their art is full of symbols – the most prevalent is the blue deer. Some say it is a spiritual guide, others say that it is the sower of the fields, once teaching agricultural methods to the Huichol. Corn is not only a major food supply and is thought to have an essence of its own, like that of a human being. The final part of the trilogy in Huichol art is peyote which is represented as round buds in their art. The chief receives visions from the peyote and passes on to the people in his songs and chants. Peyote to the Huichol is like wine to the Catholics, tea to the Buddists. The deer-corn-peyote symbolizes the entire life cycle of the Huichol people.
There is Huichol art all over PV but our favorite shops is Gallery Huichol on the corner of Guerrero and Matamoros.
