Mata Ortiz: ancient pottery traditions reborn

We stumbled upon the village of Mata Ortiz almost by chance while looking through a book on heritage sites in Chihuahua. It was described as a place where ancient pottery traditions have been revived by modern artisans based on the use of traditional materials and methods.

We found that the village is quickly becoming a destination for foreign visitors interested in the striking pottery being made there. With a few hotels (mid to high price range) and a handful of restaurants in town, there seem to be plenty of options. However, none of the restaurants or comedors we found were actually open on the day we visited. So if you ever consider visiting it might be wise to contact a local hotel by phone or email beforehand to be sure that they can accommodate your needs. During the afternoon of our visit a tour bus from Tuscon, AZ rolled into town with probably 50 tourists. That group did not stay overnight in Mata Ortiz, but left after dinner at the Adobe Inn to stay in a hotel in nearby Nuevas Casas Grandes.

The modern revival of pottery production in Mata Ortiz is attributed to the efforts of a resident named Juan Quezada. As the story was described to us, Quezada became intrigued with the ancient pottery traditions of the region 30 to 40 years ago after seeing the remnants of a large pot in a cave nearby. Over the course of many years he labored independently to rediscover this forgotten tradition. As his work began to receive notoriety he offered to teach family members and other village members what he had learned so that they might be able to benefit financially from outside interest in the local pottery style.

Today it is evident that much of the villagers' income is derived from the sales of pottery either directly to tourists or to wholesale buyers who resell the pottery throughout the region. As you might assume, quality varies from one potter to the next. Much of what we saw was truly impressive. Many of the more noteworthy pieces were signed by members of the Quezada family (Juan has many sons, daughters, neices, and nephews who have taken up the craft) but many great pieces were from potters of other families. In addition to offering pottery for sale, pottery lessons are also available in Mata Ortiz. The owner of the Adobe Inn organizes classes for groups of 6 to 12 lasting approximately one week including instruction in all phases of pottery production and visits to local historic sites.

The one difficulty that we had with our visit to Mata Ortiz was getting there and away. Despite what our guidebook said, public transportation seems not to reach Mata Ortiz any longer. As a result we hitchhiked most of the way there and back to our hotel in Nuevas Casas Grandes (NCG). Hiring a taxi in NCG is an option, but it is not inexpensive. Public bus service between NCG and Casas Grandes (Paquime) is frequent so we took a bus that far and picked up rides in pickup trucks the rest of the way. We found hitchhiking to be a safe option in this area. Although others might want to rent a car or possibly a bicycle in NCG to make the trip on their own.

All in all this was a great stop for us, and one that we would recommend highly to anyone interested in the area.