The aim of this book is to engender Mexican folk art and locate women at its centre by studying the processes of creation, distribution, and consumption, as well as examining iconographic aspects, and elements of class and ethnicity, from the perspective of gender.

Mexico is home to some of the world's most extraordinary folk art, and the majority of its highly acclaimed pieces were created by women. Looking closely at eight types of Mexican folk art, including votive paintings, embroidered exvotos, cardboard Judas dolls, reproductions of Frida Kahlo's paintings made of clay, and clay figures from Cumicho called "alebrijes," this beautifully illustrated volume is one of the first to trace the role and effects of gender on both the objects of Mexican folk art and the knowledge and life experiences that lie behind them.