Paquiliztli, Joy in Crochet

By VozEs

“Paquiliztli” means “joy” in Nahuatl—the antonym of the sadness that the artisan and crochet weaver Diego Armando Juárez Viveros felt when he saw that the intelligence, hard work, and dedication of indigenous peoples do not receive the recognition they deserve.

A native of Zacapu, Michoacán, Diego moved to California with his family in 1990 when he was four years old. There, he learned English as a second language; four years ago, he taught himself Nahuatl, and he is currently learning Purépecha, the language of his native Michoacán.

From a young age, the artisan showed a keen interest in crafts; he recalls that as a child he would walk to the library on his own in search of books on how to make origami; later, as an adult, he returned to the library to find books that helped him perfect the crochet technique he had initially learned from his mother.

“I looked for crochet books, figured out how to incorporate colors, and then searched YouTube to see if anyone was creating images with crochet. I found an author named Carol Ventura who has a book specifically about creating images with crochet, and that’s how I learned how to do it,” recalls Diego.

Those books and videos, his innate skill and intelligence, but above all his passion for learning and rediscovering his identity, helped him perfect his technique and develop his own distinctive style.

A biochemist and pharmacist with a degree from the University of San Diego, this native of Michoacán recalls that it was between the ages of 20 and 23 that he began getting involved in university activities that celebrated his culture: folk dances, Aztec dance, and classes on Mexican history.

“That’s how I became interested in culture and history. I started thinking about who I was and where I came from, and I wanted to express my indigenous identity. Throughout my life, I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of discrimination against indigenous peoples, and I began to think to myself: there’s so much history here—the fact that they were able to build pyramids and so many cities that once existed requires a great deal of intelligence and dedication,” the artisan explains.

For the past four years, Diego has been teaching Nahuatl online. This has made him realize that his generation—young people who came to the United States at a very young age—has a keen interest in learning about their culture and their native language. His goal with his classes and his weaving is to inspire them to take pride in their roots and seek the change that will motivate them to embrace who they are.

In his view, strength and pride in our roots come from combining education with an acceptance of our identity, rejecting prejudice, and always embracing the joy that is so characteristic of our Latin culture. We must accept that we are of mixed heritage and that we need to understand both sides.

The artisan has participated in art shows in Ventura and Vallejo, California, which has allowed him to meet people and raise awareness of his work and culture. He has currently received more than 750 requests for his Nahuatl classes and has followers from Europe and Russia who are interested in his art. He works full-time as a pharmacist.