“Porque? Porque” is Sergio’s catchphrase; “Why? Because…”. He laughs with good humour when we bring this to his attention. This phrase reveals a lot about his character; his professionalism, ability to problem solve and eagerness to talk about his craft.

Our first encounter with Sergio was one of serendipity and a random act of kindness. On our way to visit a friend in Teotitlan, we were stranded in the blistering sun, waiting for a ‘moto” (tuk-tuk) to pick us up from the freeway and take us into town. A ute pulls up, letting out a passenger. The driver calls us over and kindly offers us a lift. Sergio we discover is a rug maker, which in a village of 90% rug weavers, is not surprising. We think nothing of it until our production is at capacity and we remember the kind ‘caballero’ who drove us into town.

Here we chat with him about all things rugs and Teotitlan.

Luke: Your rugs are like works of art, is it hard to say goodbye when you sell one?

Sergio: Yes, it is difficult but it is a joy because a piece says more for the artisan who made it.

Do you ever keep them for your house?

Not if they are mine. I have some pieces of my grandparents saved, but mine no.

How old were you when you first learned to weave?

When I started weaving at age six but simple stripes designs, and at age seven already formally.

And were you excited or was it a task?

Not very excited, because it is the age of not wanting to work and more play and it was like a task for me

There are many steps to making a rug: you need to create a design, dye the thread, set the loom, and then of course the actual weaving - what is your favourite step?

My favourite step is to design or decide that I'm going to weave.

How many looms do you have in your house?

Well, my 3 where I work but there are more looms of my father, my brother ... but where I work are 3

You have an amazing eye for colour, what inspires you?

Nature; the mountains, the fields and the sky.

Do you draw your designs on paper or fabrics directly from your mind?

It depends on the design, if something new is original is from the mind if it is a replica of a work you have to draw on paper beforehand as necessary.

What is your favourite colour to weave?

The natural thread of the sheep either light grey, white, dark grey. I think that I like them as they are natural of the sheep has a lot of aesthetics when it is woven is something unique because it is worked by hand then the thread comes out only lighter parts darker parts.

Taco or tlayuda?

Tlayuda

What do you like most about living in Teotitlan?

The tranquillity of Teotitlan and its customs and especially the fabric of the rug.