THE MATA ORTIZ MAP

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE VILLAGE OF JUAN MATA ORTIZ

The village of Juan Mata Ortiz surfaced in the early  

part of the 20th century as Pearson, named after its developer, American industrialist Fred S. Pearson. By 1909, it becomes the site of a lumber and railroad emporium, and home to the largest sawmill in Central America.  

Historically, the area had been inhabited by indigenous people from the Pre-Columbian Paquime Civilization dating from 1150-1300 AD and home to a highly evolved pottery tradition known as Casas Grandes pottery. (Ancient pottery remains and vessels have been excavated and found by the villagers over the years, in the surrounding hills, mounds and mesas that border the village).  

The development of Pearson attracted unemployed Mexicans from the surrounding regions, and Chinese immigrants from as far away as California, to work at the sawmill and on the construction of the railroad. These activities resulted in the growth of a village settlement that today numbers 300-400 families.  

The outbreak of the Mexican Revolution severely disrupted the Chihuahua region, causing the sawmill to fail and the railroad to be damaged. The people of Mata Ortiz struggled to survive and turned to subsistence farming and ranching.  

By 1925 the village became Juan Mata Ortiz and obtained community land grant status from the Mexican government. Many community members also excavated ancient earthenware vessels, which they sold to dealers and collectors to help supplement their meager incomes. As the caches of pre-historic earthenware vessels dried up, villagers learned to  

make and copy the ancient Paquime pottery designs. With this began the birth of the modern pottery tradition in Mata Ortiz. 

By the early 1970s a number of families in the village became skilled at creating and producing their own traditional, signed artisanal pottery of high quality, using and improving on the traditional technology used by the ancient Pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the region. 

Today the potters of Mata Ortiz continue to expand and excel in their work receiving both national and international recognition and awards for the excellence of their fine ceramics. 

  • Riding bareback in Mata Ortiz
  • Hay growing in the ejido farmland of Mata Ortiz
  • This old adobi building located on the edge of Mata Ortiz was photographed by Carlotta Boettcher in 2011.
  • The train station in Mata Ortiz
  • The streets of Mata Ortiz
  • An old storage building in Mata Ortiz
  • Streets of Mata Ortiz
  • A gas station at the end of a dirt road in Mata Ortiz
  • Gas station in Mata Ortiz
  • Finding a potter in Mata Ortiz
  • Chapel to the Virgin in Mata Ortiz
  • The Mata Ortiz pharmacy on Calle Mexico
  • Pre-Columbian Paquime pots from Casas Grandes near  Mata Ortiz, Mexico.
  • Potteryartist Goyin Silveira sitting in his yard sanding one of his pots.  Photo by Carlotta Boettcher 2011
  • The firing of pottery in Mata Ortiz
  • Potter completing a firing in Mata Ortiz
  • Freshly fired pots in Mata Ortiz
  • A happy collector of pots in Mata Ortiz
  • Buying pots in Mata Ortiz
  • Aurelia sanding pots in the court yard
  • Hector Gallegos painting one of his fine pots
  • A pot by Graciela and Hector Gallegos
  • Potter of Mata Ortiz
  • Home of a potter in Mata Ortiz
  • One of several event centers found on the map of Mata Ortiz
  • Participants of the literacy program, Proyecto Cervants, at the Mata Ortiz Library.
  • Patricia Ortega, the Mata Ortiz librarian and a member of Proyecto Cervantes, helping children learn to read.
  • Patricia Ortega running an Arts & CraftsSummer program at the Mata Ortiz Public Library.
  • 13 high school students from Mata Ortiz won University scholarships donated with funds raised by members of Mata Ortiz Grupo Siete, who are pottery artists (back row).
  • The children and their friends of Mata Ortiz Grupo Siete members Laura Bugarini, Hector Gallegos, Carla Martinez, Diego Valles, Graciela Martinez, and Goyin Silveira.
  • NIGHT LIFE IN MATA ORTIZ
  • Four of the young men who run the carnival which came to Mata Ortiz in August. 2012
  • THE CARNIVAL IN MATA ORTIZ
  • THE CARNIVAL IN MATA ORTIZ
  • THE CARNIVAL IN MATA ORTIZ
  • THE CARNIVAL IN MATA ORTIZ
  • THE CARNIVAL IN MATA ORTIZ
  • At the celebrations of September 15, Independence Day in Mata Ortiz
  • At the celebrations of September 15, Mata Ortiz Municipal President Javier Mendoza and his wife Faviola ringing the bell of independence. 2011
  • Hamburgesas Johny is run by the owner Mema and her helpers.
  • Leonel Quezada and Yesenia Sandoval are the owners and chefs at Hambugesas Paquime.
  • Leonel Quezada prepares a dish!  Yum!!!
  • Mata_Ortiz_train_station
  • The hill overlooking Mata Ortiz
  • Driving to Mata Ortiz from the Sierra Madre mountains.
  • MATA ORTIZ - SEE VILLAGE MAPS HERE
  • MATA ORTIZ - SEE VILLAGE PHOTOS
  • LINKS
  • PRINT MAPS HERE - (pdf)
  • MATA ORTIZ MAP - How it happened
  • ABOUT US - THE MAP OF MATA ORTIZ

FIND THE POTTERS OF MATA ORTIZ. Site design © 2010-2018 Neon Sky Creative Media