Just 121 kilometers north of San Miguel, the “Escuela de Rebocería” of Santa María del Río, San Luis Potosí was established in 1953 by the Federal and State governments.
Many of the weavers of Santa María have learned the art of back-strap loom weaving rebozos using complex ikat or jaspe designs on rayon-silk (artisela) and silk (seda) at this school and workshop.
This is the only community in Mexico where the use of silk has survived. Coordinated by Carmina Dosal, a civil servant from the Secretariat of Economic Development of San Luis Potosí, she has guided the school since 1974, making sure the best raw-materials are found — not an easy task — as the silk is imported from China and as rayon-silk factories closed in Mexico it is now also imported.
Carmina also works with about 120 fringe makers who live in the outlying communities and on an annual basis she negotiates with the Labor Secretariat for the scholarships that are given to students to learn. (The two photos to the left were provided by Stephanie Schneiderman of Tia Stephanie Tours.)