Learn one of Mexico's oldest living textile traditions directly from award-winning Amuzgo master weaver Gabina Valentín López.
This immersive two-day workshop offers a rare opportunity to learn the ancient art of Amuzgo backstrap weaving directly from Gabina Valentín López, an Indigenous master weaver from Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero. In 2024, Gabina was honoured with Mexico's Galardón Nacional de Textil, one of the country's highest distinctions for traditional textile artisans, recognising her exceptional contribution to preserving Amuzgo weaving traditions. She continues a textile practice that has been passed down through generations of women in her community.
Over the course of 12 hours, participants will learn how to set up and weave on a traditional backstrap loom, explore the fundamentals of plain weave and supplementary weft (brocade) techniques, and create a woven sample featuring symbolic Amuzgo motifs. Working with fine cotton yarns, both undyed and naturally dyed with Mexican plants, participants will gain a practical understanding of the relationship between technique, material, and cultural identity.
More than simply a weaving tool, the backstrap loom is a living cultural tradition. Used throughout Mesoamerica since pre-Hispanic times, it has enabled generations of Indigenous women to create textiles while preserving stories, knowledge, and identity through cloth. Lightweight and portable—weighing less than 500 grams and measuring under 46 cm—the loom can easily be transported and used almost anywhere.
Each backstrap loom used during the workshop is handcrafted by Gabina and her family in Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero. Participants will have the opportunity to purchase their loom at the end of the workshop, allowing them to continue practising this ancestral weaving tradition at home and further develop their skills.
Organised by the TuYo Foundation, this workshop offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with one of Mexico's most remarkable living textile traditions. Alongside practical instruction, participants will gain insight into Amuzgo textile culture, traditional symbolism, natural dye practices, and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge that continues to sustain this extraordinary craft today.
The workshop is open to both complete beginners and participants with previous weaving experience. Instruction will be provided in Spanish and English.
Masterclass Content
Materials Included
Date: 10 & 11 October
Duration: 12 hours (2-day workshop) 10-16.00 hrs
Teachers: Gabina Valentín Lopéz (Amuzgo artisan) and Inês Queirós (Stichting TuYo Founder)
Fee: €280 (all materials included)
Maximum number of participants: 10
Location: Weaving Worlds, NDSM plein 21 Amsterdam
Level: Beginner-friendly
Founded in Amsterdam in 2021, TuYo Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving, revitalising and promoting ancestral textile traditions while supporting Indigenous and local communities through socially and environmentally responsible practices.
Its first long-term collaboration is based in Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero (Mexico), where TuYo works alongside members of the Amuzgo Indigenous community. Through close dialogue with local weavers, the foundation develops projects that respond to community-identified needs, strengthening opportunities for cultural continuity, knowledge transmission and sustainable livelihoods.
TuYo envisions a future in which textile communities can thrive with fair economic opportunities while preserving the cultural identities and ancestral knowledge that define their heritage.
About the Amuzgo Culture
The Amuzgo (Ñomndaa) people of Xochistlahuaca, in the state of Guerrero, are internationally recognised for one of Mexico's most remarkable living textile traditions. For generations, weaving has been practised primarily by women, with techniques, symbols and stories transmitted orally from mothers and grandmothers to younger generations.
Creating a single textile may take weeks, months or even a year, making every piece a unique expression of its maker. Woven motifs depict the natural world, ancestral beliefs, personal histories and the cultural memory of the community. Beyond their aesthetic beauty, these textiles embody a living system of knowledge that continues to play an essential role in the social, spiritual and economic life of the Amuzgo people.
About Gabina Valentín López & Inês Queirós
Gabina Valentín López is an Amuzgo master weaver from Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, on Mexico's Costa Chica. She began weaving at the age of nine under the guidance of the women in her family, learning the traditional techniques and symbolic language of her community.
Following a period of migration to Mexico City, weaving became a way of maintaining her connection to her cultural roots. Today, she is dedicated to preserving and sharing Amuzgo textile traditions, working closely with women weavers from her community and presenting their work throughout Mexico. In 2024, she was awarded the Galardón Nacional de Textil, one of Mexico's highest honours for traditional textile artisans, recognising her outstanding contribution to the preservation of Indigenous textile heritage.
Inês Queirós is a Portuguese textile artist, researcher and founder of TuYo Foundation, based in Amsterdam. Her practice explores textiles as vehicles for cultural memory, storytelling and social exchange, with a particular focus on the preservation of endangered textile traditions and natural dyeing practices.
Through long-term collaborations with artisan communities, she develops projects that support the transmission of ancestral knowledge while creating new opportunities for cultural exchange. During the masterclass, Inês will serve as translator and facilitator, supporting the dialogue between participants and Gabina throughout the learning process.
