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Dye Artisans Keep Ancestors' Traditions Alive

Faiza Elmasry

   Dodging waves at low tide, a barefooted, shirtless Mixtec man is
   carefully walking along the Pacific Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. He
   navigates his way through the gray rocks on a quest to catch a
   particular kind of snail, Purpura pansa. When he catches one, he
   presses just the right part of the snail's foot to encourage it to
   secrete a neurotoxin directly onto a skein of cotton yarn. The milky
   liquid stains the yarn in a greenish color. As it oxidizes, the color
   turns blue and finally becomes a brilliant reddish-purple hue.

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