OUR STORY
The Espadas Family
Emilio Espadas belongs to a third generation of potters in Uayma, Yucatan. Following the tradition of his aunt Juanita Dzul, who was his teacher and a ceramist woman recognized in her community for her talent, determination and freedom. For more than 33 years Don Emilio and his family have been working at home, in the stone oven they built with their hands. Letting the clay speak to them, they have worked in communion with the natural cycles of the exuberant Yucatan jungle.
The traditional ancient Mayan way of making ceramics is an offering to the natural elements. Each member of the family has a role, they choose the ideal type of soil for each piece and mix it with other minerals, making the alchemy of beauty and usefulness so important in their way of life. They mold the pieces with great care and skill, and then present them to the fire in a ceremony that takes place with Anona and garlic to ward off the bad winds. They also ask the wind where it is going to blow and so they know the best place to put their pieces to cool, once they are removed from the oven still lit from living earth, while the children watch carefully how the masters do it.
Don Emilio is the last potter in the area who works the Mayan ceramics in the old traditional way, the dream of his family since the time of his aunt Juanita is to transmit this knowledge to the communities of the region and open a pottery school to the children of Uayma managing to position it as the most important ceramic center in the Yucatan peninsula.
