artesanía / Indigenous / Mexico / Travel Log
Travel Log: The modern life + ancient times of barro negro
By hola | Published | No Comments
Photos by Morgan Doyle
Barro negro has been around a long time. Pieces of this “black pottery” made from a special, dark clay can be found in the ruins of Monte Alban, a city dating to the ancient Zapotec empire in southwestern Mexico’s Valley of Oaxaca. But the art of barro negro continues to thrive beyond the pages of history books, as well. It’s still part of everyday life—and an important tourist attraction—in modern-day Oaxaca City, as I learned during a recent trip.
On the advice of Tabatha, our guide, we visited the home and workshop of Doña Rosa, an almost mythical figure in the culture of the barro negro. She innovated and rejuvenated the industry. Traditionally, barro negro was simply used as everyday pottery, valued for its ability to hold water without leaks but not at all flashy. Doña Rosa changed that in the 
1950s when she realized that “polishing” the pieces during the process of making it gave the fired clay an enchanting shine, although the shine did mean the pieces were no longer waterproof.
At the workshop, we met the current jefa, the granddaughter of Doña Rosa, and she demonstrated to us how the pottery is made. Doña Rosa passed away a few decades ago, but her relatives continue to run the workshop, an arrangmente that underscores how barro negro—with its ancient indigenous history, emphasis on family life, and synthesis of the utilitarian and the aesthetic—is truly a microcosm of Mexican culture.
—Morgan Doyle
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