Efraín Fuentes

• San Martin Tilcajete

Efraín is part of the third generation of wood carvers. He began carving at the age of 7 under the supervision of his father Epifanio Fuentes, who learned from his father.

When Efraín was just 13 years old, he went out to exhibit his work abroad for the first time.

He is currently married to Silvia Gómez, an artisan from the same town who decorates the wood carvings that Efraín and his children carve. He has a family workshop in the town of San Martín Tilcajete where the 6 members of the family collaborate, creating pieces inspired by the Zapotec culture, painting traditional designs that are found in the archaeological sites of Oaxaca such as Monte Albán, they stand out for carving Day of the Dead sculptures, at home they have a great variety of skeletons and catrinas representing everyday images such as the petatero, the lords of the fields, regional dancers, they have also begun to make anatomical sculptures such as brains, kidneys, lungs, livers, uterus and many hearts.

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