Each cut tells a story across forty sheets
Artisans in San Salvador Huixcolotla stack forty sheets of tissue and carve them with mallet and chisel in a single strike.
Color marks every occasion and season
Hot pink for weddings, purple to honor the departed, turquoise and yellow for the fiestas that celebrate the living.
The wind carries banners between communities
Strung across plazas and church facades, papel picado marks the spaces where people gather to remember and rejoice.
Three generations keep the chisels sharp
The Vivanco family has practiced and perfected this craft since the 1920s in Puebla, passing technique down by hand.