Thousands of people in Oaxaca were amazed by the creation and exhibition of the extraordinary figures created by the artisans participating in the Totomoxtle and Immortal Flower Figures Contest that took place in the Zócalo of Oaxaca de Juárez as part of the December holidays, “Oaxaca, Land of Cultivated Dreams”, organized by the City of Oaxaca de Juárez, through the Directorate of Culture and Tourism.
This is the first year that the contest for Totomoxtle (corn husks) and Immortal Flower was held on December 22 and the exhibition will be held through December 23 along with the artistic works made for the traditional Night of Radishes; With this new program, there is the possibility that a greater number of national and foreign visitors and Oaxacans can enjoy and be part of this beautiful Oaxaca tradition.
The Deputy Director of Culture of Oaxaca City, Ita Andehui Vásquez Gómez, indicated that 40 artisans participated in the contest of Totomoxtle and Flor Immortal figures, 32 of which created corn leaf figures and 8 participants in the fair used the Immortal Flower.
The municipal official said that the jury was composed of prominent personalities such as the specialist of the Dora Cecilia Aceves Historical Center, the Prize for Science and Arts, Angélica Delfina Vásquez Cruz, the artisan master Carlomagno Pedro Martínez, the visual artists Rolando Rojas Martínez and Isabel Sánchez Salgado.
This Sunday the judges made tours to appreciate each of the competing works and qualified the parameters of creativity, composition, technique, materials, and tradition; The awards will be held on December 23 at the Government Palace together with the winners of the Radish Night.
Artisan Jorge Alberto López Degollado, a native of Nazareno, Etla, said he was very excited to participate with his work “it is a very beautiful tradition that dates back many years and that unites artisans and gardeners motivating us to expose what we feel and appreciate in Oaxaca. ”
Francisca Lila Sánchez Mateo, from San Antonino Castillo Velasco, commented that the love she feels for crafts finds a splendid forum to be shown in this traditional contest, “I participate with something very typical of Oaxaca, showing the great heart that exists here.”
Visibly excited the inhabitant of Oaxaca, Marcos Leyva Jiménez, said he was very proud of the crafts and figures he showed, since in addition to its beauty, they put up the name of Oaxaca worldwide “we are from here, and I really like our culture and traditions,” he concluded.