Straw Paintings
EL ARTE DE POPOTE

    El Popote is the Mexican or perhaps the Aztec word for straw. In Spanish straw is paja.

    Popoteros were not uncommon in the late 1800's but today only a few craftsmen are working in Mexico City.
In Puerto Vallarta the Hernandez family has been passing the art down for over four generations.

    The materials used are broom-straw, wax, and aniline dyes. These intricate mosaics of hollow broom-straw
require many tiny pieces to be precisely inlaid on a thin layer of wax that overlays a drawing. The artist tints the
popote with vegetable or aniline dyes mixed with boiling water. Once dry, it is cut into thousands of small
pieces according to the design. The themes are flowers, Mexican villages and pyramids, as well as a series of
Gods from each month of the Aztec Calendar which make great unique birthday gifts. These intricate mosaics
leave you in awe of the imagination and skill of the artists. All straw art at Galeria Quetzal has been created by
the Hernandez family of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.