Authentic Mexican Falsa Blanket
The Authentic Mexican Falsa Blanket is from Tlaxcala. Tlaxcala is one of the 32 states of Mexico, and its capital is also named Tlaxcala. Tlaxcala has been part of the Nahuatl region since the pre-Columbian time, sharing traditions and culture with other Nahuatl Towns in Mexico.
Before the Tlaxcaltecas (Tlaxcaltecans) settled Tlaxcala, there were already other groups of indigenous people living around Tlaxcala; however, it is considered the year 1,208 as the date of the foundation of Tlaxcala. Tlaxcala never was part of the Aztec empire; Aztecs and Tlaxcaltecans were enemies.
When the Spanish came to what is now the Mexican territory, Tlaxcaltecans allied with the Spanish to defeat the Aztecs. As a result of the coalition, the Spanish allowed the Tlaxcaltecan region to remain mostly intact throughout 300 years of colonialism. Tlaxcaltecans kept their own culture and traditions that remain nowadays.
After Mexican Independence, Tlaxcala became a federal territory, admitted as a state of the Mexican federation in 1857. Located in East-Central Mexico, the Tlaxcala State forms part of the region called the altiplano. Tlaxcala is the smallest state of Mexico; it is bordered by the states of Puebla, México and Hidalgo.
The origin of the Authentic Mexican Falsa Blanket is the Cobija Town of Contla de Juan Cuamatzi, where people have made it since ancestral times. In Contla de Juan Cuamatzi, families have passed the tradition of making blankets as a craft by using an artisan loom to build the most beautiful and colourful pieces.
Children, who inherit from parents and grandparents the art of making blankets, traditionally learned to use the loom when they were 8-10 years all. They knew not just to make Cobijas; they learned to make other kinds of Mexican handicrafts such as Gabanes and Rebozos (ponchos).
If you want to go to Tlaxcala, you have to know that you are going to visit people who have never been dominated by other cultures like Aztecs or Spanish. You are going to meet persons who have kept their culture and traditions for more than eight centuries. Knowing that you can drive or take a bus from Mexico City, and in about one hour and a half, you are going to be in a fantastic Nahuatl Town of Mexico.
