Medina Family

Gourd Carver Evaristo Medina comes from Cochas Chico Huancay, a small village high up in the forest of the Andes Mountains of Peru, where he and his people still practice the traditional Inca ways and speak the traditional Inca language.

The delicate imagery engraved into each gourd is more than a carving; each gourd tells a story. As he and his family members carve each gourd they think on the daily lives and history of the Incas, the village fiestas and the Celebration of the Animal held each July 25 and August 1 to honor the animals that help them.

Gourd carving is an ancient art in Evaristo's family going back more generations than he can remember. Evaristo, who learned carving from his father has taught his whole family and now his wife Bertha, daughter Bertha, sons Freddy and Percy are all expert carvers. Photographs of work by Evaristo and Freddy are featured in the book "Spirit of Folk Art" published by the International Folk Art Museum of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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