Descended from the Aztecs, the Huichol population today numbers about 18,000.
They live in the mountain ranges of the neighboring states of Jalisco and Nayarit.
They have survived the Spanish invasion with their culture and traditions mostly intact: a shamanic tradition which they still follow and keeps them linked to their past.
They have come to terms with their neighboring Mexicans who have continually pushed them out of their original habitats of the deserts and valleys, onto the mountains, where they became dependent on maize. Some 13,000 of them have moved to cities like Guadalajara, Tepic and Puerto Vallarta, where they survive by applying their intricate art and handicrafts.
Here in Vallarta, the Huichol and their art and culture have found respect and acceptance.
Their art has been on display in many art galleries.
They are an important part of the history of Puerto Vallarta.
Huichol art represents their spiritual and religious beliefs, in anything from woven bracelets to colorful paintings, to vibrant beads—depicting symbols such as the serpent, the sun, the jaguar, the deer and the peyote cactus.
A common feature of Huichol art is the peyote button, the part of the cactus that they consume at least once yearly after they make a pilgrimage of hundreds of miles to desert at San Luis de Potosi or Real de Catorce,
Known the Huichol as ‘Wirikuta,’ or ‘Field of Flowers’. Under the guidance of their shamans, the experience that they go through under the influence of peyote is not hallucinogenic to the Huichol; instead it is a way for them to connect with their gods and open their minds to the interconnection of all things, visible or otherwise.
What they see through the consumption of peyote, they translate into their art.
These images tell the stories, myths and legends that make up their daily existence.
The geometric precision and intricacy of their paintings and crafts represent the unconscious archetypes shared by all human beings.
They live in the mountain ranges of the neighboring states of Jalisco and Nayarit.
They have survived the Spanish invasion with their culture and traditions mostly intact: a shamanic tradition which they still follow and keeps them linked to their past.
They have come to terms with their neighboring Mexicans who have continually pushed them out of their original habitats of the deserts and valleys, onto the mountains, where they became dependent on maize. Some 13,000 of them have moved to cities like Guadalajara, Tepic and Puerto Vallarta, where they survive by applying their intricate art and handicrafts.
Here in Vallarta, the Huichol and their art and culture have found respect and acceptance.
Their art has been on display in many art galleries.
They are an important part of the history of Puerto Vallarta.
Huichol art represents their spiritual and religious beliefs, in anything from woven bracelets to colorful paintings, to vibrant beads—depicting symbols such as the serpent, the sun, the jaguar, the deer and the peyote cactus.
A common feature of Huichol art is the peyote button, the part of the cactus that they consume at least once yearly after they make a pilgrimage of hundreds of miles to desert at San Luis de Potosi or Real de Catorce,
Known the Huichol as ‘Wirikuta,’ or ‘Field of Flowers’. Under the guidance of their shamans, the experience that they go through under the influence of peyote is not hallucinogenic to the Huichol; instead it is a way for them to connect with their gods and open their minds to the interconnection of all things, visible or otherwise.
What they see through the consumption of peyote, they translate into their art.
These images tell the stories, myths and legends that make up their daily existence.
The geometric precision and intricacy of their paintings and crafts represent the unconscious archetypes shared by all human beings.
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