The Artistic Journey of Marcelino Pomataylla Bautista
Marcelino Pomataylla Bautista, born in 1959 in Pomabamba, Cangallo Province, Ayacucho, Peru, has developed a remarkable career as a master of traditional Andean weaving. His artistic journey began at age 11 in the Santa Ana neighborhood of Huamanga, a region renowned for its skilled weavers, where he worked as an apprentice in artisan workshops.
Today, Pomataylla operates his own workshop specializing in innovative mural-style tapestries and volumetric weavings that reinvent pre-Columbian textile traditions, as exemplified by the three-dimensional piece shown in the image.
Pomataylla's Distinctive Artistic Vision
Pomataylla's work stands out for its exceptional craftsmanship and distinctive three-dimensional quality. Using sheep wool and eco-friendly dyes extracted from native plants such as molle, chilca, and retama, he creates textiles that honor ancestral techniques while introducing innovative elements. His piece "Chumpi Andino," a woven belt featuring Chakana (Inca cross) and Andean cross designs, earned him the 2023 Bicentennial National Traditional Art and Handicraft Contest, and his work has been selected for preservation as part of Peru's cultural legacy by the Ministry of Culture.
In 2016, he was recognized as a Distinguished Cultural Personality, further cementing his status as a master artisan whose family-run business in Cusco now offers visitors an opportunity to acquire authentic, high-quality Peruvian textiles that blend traditional motifs with contemporary artistic vision.