Jafet Sugia - MEXICO
“Jafet is a young artisan from Pinotepa de Don Luis, on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico, one of the last places in the world where the ancestral practice of dyeing with the caracol púrpura pansa (purple snail, Plicopurpura pansa) survives. For centuries, this rare mollusk has provided a sacred, luminous purple pigment used by Mixtec communities to dye cotton threads for ceremonial textiles. The process, carried out traditionally by men known as tintoreros, involves carefully “milking” the snail without harming it, allowing the dye to oxidize in sunlight into its characteristic deep violet hue. This knowledge, passed down through generations, is now at risk due to ecological fragility, overexploitation in the past, and the gradual disappearance of practitioners.
In Jafet’s community, cultural roles have long been clearly defined: men dye, and women weave. Yet as younger generations drift away from these traditions, the continuity of this knowledge has become uncertain. Aware of this fragility, Jafet made a radical and deeply personal decision, he chose to learn weaving, a practice traditionally reserved for women. Guided by his aunt and often in secrecy, he pursued this path despite being ridiculed and misunderstood. What began as an act of quiet resistance has become a powerful commitment: today, Jafet stands as both a skilled weaver and dyer, embodying a bridge between inherited knowledge and necessary transformation.
Jafet’s voice reveals a profound sense of purpose shaped by both doubt and determination. “I had two options,” he writes, “to be that ‘nobody’ or to be that ‘somebody’.” Choosing the latter, he sees his generation as responsible for revaluing what has been dismissed; language, identity, and collective memory. His work is not only about preserving technique, but about restoring meaning and dignity to his culture. By continuing these practices and sharing them with others, Jafet is helping to ensure that the story of the purple snail, and the community it sustains, does not fade but evolves, carried forward by those willing to become “someone” for the future.”
