Vicenta Teodoro Celestino is an artisan of the Aztec-Náhua indigenous culture from Mexico that specializes in weaving lovely baskets and other items from palm reeds. To browse a catalogue of hand-woven basketry crated by Vicenta Teodoro Celestino, click on the link at the bottom of this page. Living in the isolated, mountainous village of Tlamacazapa in Guerrero, Mexico, Vicenta Teodoro Celestino earns her living by weaving intricate palm baskets, the basic economy of the village. This unique and ancient art of weaving palm is found in this Indigenous village, home to over 6,000 people of Náhua descent. The villagers climb rocky terrains to collect the palm, meticulously dry and strip it, and then begin to weave the palm. Depending on the basket size, a weaver can work steadily for several days to complete one large basket. Sometimes they work in colorful designs of animals, flowers, birds and people into their baskets. Vicenta has the skills to weave many types of basketry. Vicenta makes simple designs like small lidded tubs and pencil holders, as well as the more complex and ornately decorated designs like the large round lidded baskets with handles as well as the difficult to craft cows and pigs basketry. Life in the village, however, is less picturesque than their palm creations. The village is characterized by poverty, environmental contamination, alcoholism among men and domestic violence, with a particularly bleak reality for women. At age 43 years, Vicenta knows this struggle all too well, saying, “My husband and I work very hard but we never have enough.” In 2000, Vicenta joined Zoyatl (a Nahuatl word meaning “palm”), a cooperative group of women weavers set up by Caminamos Juntos para Salud y Desarrollo (Walking Together for Health and Development), a civil organization that has been working in the village since 1997. Zoyatl helps the weavers expand into new markets by supporting creativity and quality work. Vicenta lives with her husband and her seven children, ranging from ages six to twenty-three in a small cornstalk house. They are still trying to save money to finish building a concrete house and a dry toilet with a rainwater catchment tank. Until then, they will continue to endure the rain and wind that frequently pass through their simple house unannounced. In addition to weaving and looking after her household and children, Vicenta collects firewood from the nearby forest for her cooking fire. With help from her children, she also regularly fetches well water for household use – a heavy and never ending task. At the end of day, physically and emotionally exhausted, Vicenta says, “My wish in life is that no illness should come to my house.” Catalogue of Basketry by Vicenta Teodoro Celestino