Desbordada: A textile artist’s anniversary gift

As the patriotic bunting comes down, Yucatecan artist Elena Martínez Bolio is marking a different kind of milestone. Her project Desbordada — a textile studio built around embroidery, storytelling and social themes — turns nine years old this week, and she’s celebrating with a benefit sale for Lazos, a nonprofit that funds education for children in Mexico.

Martínez Bolio’s path to the needle started early: she grew up in a family of tailors and weavers, then trained at Mérida’s Centro Estatal de Bellas Artes, where she became the first woman admitted to its wood-carving program. She later turned to embroidery as her primary medium, using it to address subjects such as child exploitation and trafficking alongside traditional Yucatecan techniques. Her work recently featured in a separate exhibit on memory and womanhood at the Museo de la Ciudad de Mérida.

The anniversary sale carries the slogan “Educas un niño, cambias México” — “Educate a child, change Mexico” — and a portion of proceeds will go directly to Lazos’ programs.

Fast Facts: Desbordada Anniversary Sale

• What: Ninth-anniversary sale benefiting Lazos, a children’s education nonprofit
• When: Thursday, Sept. 17, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Cost: Free admission, no cover charge
• RSVP: 999-200-8180 or Desbordada’s Facebook page
• Organizer: Elena Martínez Bolio, founder of Desbordada

With reporting from La Jornada Maya