Jesus Garcia – Agave/Robe Braiding

Born and raised in Sonora, Mexico, with ranching and farming parents, Jesus Garcia learned horsehair and agave fiber rope “reata” from his father. He also sought out elders in rural Sonora who still practice the form, buying their work, learning from them, and sometimes bringing some of them across the border to demonstrate their art at folk festivals at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. As an educator of natural and cultural history of the Sonoran Desert, Garcia has shared the artform at festivals and cultural institutions for the past 20 years. Jesus is the recipient of a 2020 Master-Apprentice Artist Award from the Southwest Folklife Alliance.