Mexico’s tourist office created a list of "Pueblos Magicos," special towns, often ignored, bypassed or unknown to the tourist but favored by some special factor. Parras de la Fuente is one of the northern Magic Towns. Its magic is found in vineyards and orchards: walnut, pecan, avocado and fig. From the mirador, atop the outcrop above Parras, the valley below looks like green-checkered velvet carpet, a Magic Carpet.

Parras is 100 miles east of Saltillo, halfway to Torreon via a four-lane toll road. There is such light traffic that you feel like it is your own private highway. Parras was founded in 1578, and the first vineyard in the Americas was planted in 1593.

Parras is an oasis watered by springs, a town for rest and relaxation, for recreation, wine tasting, for a swim or a hike. Here are family resorts, converted haciendas, and getaway retreats. Parents can lounge by a pool or enjoy a round of golf or a game of tennis. Children can swim, skate, bike, and horseback ride.

Under the shadowy street lamps, far down the block, behind the outdoor corner altars, under hidden doorway arches, you can see the teenagers huddled deep in conversation, keeping their safe distance, engaging in their courtship rituals of getting to know each other. Young women do this in secret, far from the eyes of protective fathers and distrustful grandmothers. They will do this in secret for a year or two and then get married -- typical courtship behavior for a village like Teotitlan del Valle, where most people are weavers and don't complete their education beyond the eighth grade.

"Q" Gallery Courtyard

Oaxaca is a fixation of color, texture, visual excitement, and a feast for the senses. Fiber is my passion, so in my wanderings in search of great hand made paper jewelry, I found “Q” tucked away on M. Bravo No. 109. This is the most sensual, deliciously minimalist gallery in Oaxaca city. One extraordinary feature of “Q” is the courtyard filled with rows of ancient stones used for grinding maize, an artful sculptural display. In addition to gorgeous, very avant-garde fashion jewelry, they had the book Taller Flora by Carla Fernandez. Of course, I had to have it since it describes the indigenous techniques of transforming hand woven cloth into clothing – in both Spanish and English.

I’m in love with this book. Fernandez describes the various ways of putting webs (geometric shapes of cloth) together to create dresses, pants, skirts, blouses, shirts, sashes and jackets. She describes indigenous pre-Hispanic techniques for constructing garments, and compares this with western techniques. Westerners cut cloth to fit the body. Indigenous weavers feature the textile and, make few, if any, cuts into the cloth. Their clothing is loose fitting, comfortable, and easily adaptable to another future use. The weaving takes center stage.

Last summer, I eyed a piece of hand woven cloth tucked away on the bottom shelf in a shop in the city, bought it and took it home. It’s gloriously rich color spoke to me. I’ve been saving it and yesterday I decided to take it in hand and create a huipil.