POT POURRI | The Shillong Times

MEXICO CITY, April 22: Xaneri Merino, a transgender Indigenous woman from San Pedro Jicayan in southern Mexico, has reclaimed the traditional backstrap loom as both a cultural practice and a form of LGBTQ+ resistance. Born male in a community where weaving is traditionally restricted to women, she was expected to follow male roles such as farming and cattle rearing. However, her grandmother secretly taught her the ancestral craft of weaving from the age of 13, passing on knowledge rooted in Mixtec and Zapotec traditions and a deep respect for nature. Despite this early mentorship, Merino faced punishment at age 15 after being caught weaving…