The art of the Pascua Yaqui, who call themselves Yoeme, show us once again the amazing creative talent we have in Tucson. Yoeme art strongly reflects their tribal heritage and culture dating back centuries. Their beliefs have been influenced since the early 1500s and successfully blend the religion taught by early Jesuit priests and their own unique beliefs that include their beloved deer dancer.

Viewing the unique art below you will see the prominent influence of the deer dancer in their logo and tribal symbols. The deer dancer, a central figure in the spiritual lives of the Pascua Yaqui tribe, becomes most notable during the Easter season when it is seen participating in ceremonies that depict holy events during this period. The ancient ceremony involves highly trained men dancing wearing a headdress depicting a deer’s head and whose steps imitate movement of a deer. Pascua is Spanish for Easter.

You will also notice in Yoeme art, flowers play a very important significance in their lives and ceremony. It is from the ancient belief that their deer dancer is from a flower-filled spiritual world of natural beauty. The symbolic flowers, depicted in their art and ceremonies, come from the belief that Christ’s grace grew from the blood from Jesus’ wounds during the crucifixion. They are believed to be very powerful weapons against evil and have become a prevalent symbol in their embroidered floral designs in traditional Yaqui clothing.

Many of the photos below were taken by myself at a recent event at the Cultural Center. As you can see, I am not a professional photographer and the art looks much better in person.

As you can see in the slideshow of art above, the artists gain their inspiration from their culture and heritage. These works are from just a few of the talented Yoeme artists.

I asked painter, Rene Alvarez, where he got his inspiration for his paintings and he stated, “I am inspired by the elders. The stories of the past, culture, and all the love, respect, and honor that is a part of the Yoeme (the People.)”

To see a wonderful Video that will also explain more of the culture of the Yoeme and the high spirituality of these wonderful people please visit Louis David Valenzuela’s web site. http://www.yoemecarver.com/

It is very informative and will show you the significance of another traditional figure in Yaqui culture, the PASCOLA, which translates into “old man of the fiesta. Fiestas are community-wide events often lasting all night including religious, secular and symbolic elements.

Mr. Valenzuela is a remarkable artist who experienced a tragedy in his family before he turned his life around and was guided into his art. Watching the video will explain what he does and why he does it. He is now sharing his talents with the Yoeme youth teaching them an almost dying craft of craving wood. His carvings are made with cottonwood from an area near Sonoita or from the chili-cota wood from Rio Yaqui a small village in Mexico. This small village is also where some of the beautiful embroidered dresses are made seen in the slideshow above.

I highly recommend you visit their cultural center on the reservation to see the wonderful gifts and artwork exhibited there. It is called Yoemem Tekia Cultural Center & Museum. It was created by the Yoemem Tedia Foundation which is a Non-Profit organization dedicated to the preservation and continuation of the Yaqui culture.

This place should definitely be on a “to do list” when out of state visitors arrive. Inside the center, besides hand crafted art work and photos of Yaqui history, you will see beautiful embroidered dresses created by tribal members living in the Rio Yaqui village in Mexico. The women creating these wearable works of art are attempting to get out of their impoverished environment. You can be instrumental in helping by buying one of these one-of-a-kind dresses or helping them in some way get a micro-loan to buy more materials. This will help them to achieve their dream of getting out of poverty. The quality of work is very impressive.

The Yoemem Tekia Cultural Center and Museum is located on the reservation at 7510 S. Camion Potam.  For information and open hours call Kathy Valencia or Rosa Mendoza at 520-879-5782. Email: kathy.valencia@pascuayaqui-nsn.gov or rosa.mendoza@pascuayaqui-nsn.gov

The Center is off W. Valencia Rd, south on S. Camino De Oeste past the casino and offices and then west on W. Tetakusim Rd. directly into the center on S. Camion Potam.

To find out more about the artists and the Yoeme Artists’ Association contact: Marcelino C. Flores, Community Development Coordinator

Development Services, Pascua Yaqui Tribe

7474 S. Camino de Oeste

Tucson, AZ 85757

Phone:   520-879-6314

Fax:        520-879-6304

Email:   marcelino.flores@pascuayaqui-nsn.gov

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 13th, 2010 at 1:50 pm and is filed under arts, Tucson Art. Tags for this post: Deer Dancer, Fiestas, Flowers, Jose Gonzales, Louis David Valenzuela, Marcelino Flores, Pascua Yaqui, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Rene Alvarez, Rio Yaqui, sculpture, wood carvings, Yoeme, Yoeme Artists's Association, Yoemem Tekia Cultural Center & Museum. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.