Biography

TEOFILO CHOQUECAHUA CANALES was born on June 8, 1981, in the district of Vinchos, Province of Huamanga, Department of Ayacucho, He learned to weave in his father's workshop, Pedro Choquecahua at 10 years old, who was his Textile Art teacher. Choque, as his friends and contemporaries from the neighborhood called him, Parallel to his learning of textile crafts, he continued with his school studies.
From 1999 to 2003, he worked in the city of Lima, in the workshop of the Grand Master “MÁXIMO LAURA TABOADA”, alternating his studies of drawing and painting in the “Lima art museum”.
In 2004, he named his workshop, in our native language “quechua”,Textile Craft Workshop “Siqchuy”, means“combination of colored threads” ,where he begins to develop his own Techniques and Designs. From this stage,Teo's career was in continuous ascent in exhibitions in galleries and museums, both local, national and international, positioning his art at the top of the Andean textile industry.
In 2016 Teo graduated in Visual Arts from the School of Fine Arts “Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala” y Artesano Textil, his aspiration is to become the best Ayacucho Artist and share his knowledge with children, youth and adolescents from the Belén neighborhood.
In 2017 two recognitions arrive for Teo, the first is by CITE Textil Ayacucho as third place as Regional Innovator of Crafts, the second was that of the prestigious firm Michell y Cía. which awarded Teo first place in Fabric Innovation. Teo's goal is to continue working to keep alive our ancient art and culture that our ancestors have bequeathed for more than 5000 years.