Tradition and Resilience: The Story of Otomí ‘Tenango’ Embroidery

Nestled in the Sierra Madre Oriental in central Mexico lies Tenango de Doria, Hidalgo, or “a stone‑walled place” in Nahuatl, home of the Otomí people (who call themselves Hñähñu or Ñuhu). The Otomi textile, also known as Tenango, is more recently known as a cultural innovation born in the 1960s. However, the traditional embroidery goes back to pre-Hispanic times. 

Otomi embroidery in earlier eras was done on garments and ceremonial fabrics using techniques such as ‘pepenado’ and ‘punto de cruz’ (small running stitches or cross stitches), reflected in utilitarian blouses and household items passed through generations. The designs have been tied to cave paintings, flora, fauna, mythological creatures, and the ancestral beliefs of the goddess Xochiquetzal. 

The modern Tenango style emerged when a drought in the 1960s devastated subsistence agriculture across Hidalgo. To survive economically, a single mother from San Nicolás named Josefina José Tavera began creating smaller, more marketable embroidered manta panels from designs. Her embroidery designs sold well at the San Pablito/Pahuatlán market, inspiring others to adopt and adapt the style to sell regionally. 

What distinguishes Tenango embroidery is its bold scale and symmetry, large whimsical animals (armadillos, rabbits, birds), stylized flowers, and trees arranged in mirror‑image layouts. Figures are sketched by hand onto pristine white cotton, then densely filled using satin or modified herringbone stitches done entirely on the fabric’s top side. The use of saturating threads, often in multicolor stripes, creates a striking contrast against the white fabric.

Today, it is estimated that over 1,200 artisans in that region alone continue to practice Tenango embroidery. High‑quality large works, such as bedspreads, can take up to six years to complete due to the minute and dense stitching. 

Tenango embroidery stands as both a symbol of Otomí cultural resilience and artistic ingenuity. From ancient cave paintings and ancestral embroidery stitches, women of the Otomí communities transformed crisis into opportunity. They are creating radiant textile art that speaks not only of nature and myth, but of survival, heritage, and cultural identity.

Article References:

https://www.waldorfhandwork.org/post/otomi-tenangos-a-rich-history-of-women-and-embroidery

https://www.selvedge.org/blogs/selvedge/tenango-embroidery-from-mexico?srsltid=AfmBOorgXCpHjcsnZBejbmTeDlgcTeuUxU9R0_26y2npljRZPctt_GG_