Rebozo

It can be worn in various ways, usually folded or wrapped around the head and/or upper body to shade from the sun, provide warmth and as an accessory to an outfit.The origin of the garment is unclear, but Indigenous women of Mesoamerica were the primary weavers of the first rebozos, often crafted with body-tensioned or back-strap "otate" looms.Traditional rebozos are handwoven from cotton, wool, silk and rayon in various lengths but all have some kind of pattern (usually from the ikat method of dyeing) and have fringe, which can be fingerwoven into complicated designs.It has been prominently worn by women such as Frida Kahlo, actress María Félix and former Mexican first lady Margarita Zavala and still popular in rural areas of the country.Like ponchos, huipils and sarapes they are classic Mexican garments made of straight, mostly uncut cloth, but rebozos have their own characteristics.[1] It is classically a woman's garment, traditionally hand woven, distinguished by complicated fingerwoven fringes called rapacejos.[11][13] The most famous classic rebozo style is called "de bolitas" whose name comes from little knots of string tied onto groups of threads used in its production.[13][17] One modern and innovative way to wear it has been to twist it around the upper body and fastened to make a kind of blouse or top.[11][13] In 1625, Thomas Gage noted that blacks and mixed race people in Mexico wore wide strips of clothes on their head instead of the Spanish mantilla.[6] The rebozo's use as an identifying marker of Mexican identity began at this time as well, with even the Empress Carlota wearing it on various formal occasions, especially while at her country home in Cuernavaca.[11] Its symbolic function continued into the Mexican Revolution, during which it was associated with rebel women called "Adelitas," who wrapped both babies and weapons inside rebozos as they passed federal checkpoints.Much of the world's familiarity with the rebozo comes from later cinematic depictions of Adelitas, but it also accentuated the garment's use with indigenous women, poverty and low socioeconomic station.[1] A de bolita patterned rebozo is mentioned in one of Francisco Gabilondo Soler’s famous children's songs.[11] One reason for this is that the garment is associated with indigenous groups and poverty, and another is that the fine handwoven rebozos, especially of silk, are very expensive because of the skilled labor required.[9][22] Many of the most expensive rebozos are no longer made in many parts of the country, with the exceptions of Santa María del Río and San Luis Potosí City.[35] The Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares in Mexico City held an event called "Tápame con tu rebozo" in 2012, to promote the use and sale of the garment.[15][36] Average time to make a traditionally woven rebozo is thirty to sixty days with anywhere fifteen to 200 different steps depending on how complicated the design is and the type of fibre being used.[17] Isabel Rivera and Julia Sánches of Santa María have won national and international awards for their work, with the ability to weave letters into the fringes of rebozos.[10][22] In some areas, after they are finished, rebozos are "smoked" with rosemary branches or are stored with apples or quince in order to make them smell good.[7] There are a number of locations in Mexico which produce traditional rebozos including, Zamora, Ahuirán, Turícuaro, Angahuan, Santa Cruz, Tocuaro, Zitácuaro, Cuanajo, Arocutín and Tangancícuaro in Michoacán,[7][25] Moroleón and Uriangato in Guanajuato,[7] the Altos de Chiapas region, Xochistlahuaca in Guerrero, the Sierra Norte de Puebla, San Pedro Cajonos, Pinotepa de Don Luis, Yalalag, and Santa María Tlahuitoltepec in Oaxaca[14] as well as the Cooperativa Textil Artesanal in the city of Oaxaca[5] and Chiautempan, Tlaxcala,[22] However, there are several important locations whose work are featured in important collections such as that of the Rockefeller family.Other common colors are black, blue, red, purple and green along occasional white threads which appear as flecks in the final product.[38] Tenancingo's rebozos come in a wide variety of prices from 400 to 4,000 pesos, depending on the quality of the cotton, the complexity of the design and the thread count.The creation of the garment remains important both culturally and economically, with the work here recognized at the national and international levels.