University Museum of Popular Art

                       El Museo Universitario de Artes Populares 

Beaded Huipil from Colima State

      What an inspiration to visit this charming museum which is part of the University of Colima, just five blocks from the central plaza. On display are folk-art exhibits from Colima and other nearby states. The collection of costumes and masks used in traditional Colima dances is exceptional with each item carefully detailed in Spanish explaining its cultural background, materials, and source.

Colima Dancer

Regional Dances

    

      The textile collection was rich in diversity and description. The weaving, embroidery, and dyeing technics were explained wonderful detail. Huipils (blouses), belts, blankets, skirts, purses were included. with Colima and Oaxaca examples dominating the collection. There were even lovely examples of ikat and shibori (tie-dye) (plangi). Most of the weaving was done on the basic back-strap loom. Hard to believe! Basketry, painted gourds, instruments, miniature toy models, doll houses, and puppet theaters were exhibited as well. The visit reminded me of the Santa Fe Museum of Folk Art but on a much smaller scale. An incredible experience in lovely Colima.