IO, Jakarta – The rebozo, a pledge of excellence of women, is a great tradition in Santa María del Río, Mexico, lived and breathed through this colorful, elegant and fine garment, especially in its creation in silk, the most famous and whose elaboration has become a craft that has crossed borders.
Mexican Artisan Arturo Estrada Hernandez introduced the rebozo to all audience during a session entitled “All Around the World – Ikat Traditions from Far and Near” at the World Ikat Textiles Symposium 2019 (WITS), at the Hotel Santika Premiere, Slipi, West Jakarta (23/8).
Arturo Estrada Hernandez is a master dyer and backstrap weaver from Santa Maria del Rio in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. He has been creating rebozos, a traditional Mexican garment, for 38 years. His silk rebozos are made with different threads, colors and designs, using his own process, and are named after the source of their inspiration.
Thus, the rebozo became a symbol of Mexico and its use has been most varied. While ladies of high society used it in their homes or in various events, the women of the town did not go out without it, to the market or anywhere else.
Arturo indicated that it is made of various materials, cotton, artisela, and the finest and softest silk. The rebozos can be created in one color or with a mixture of several, striped, with chins; there are predominantly black, purple, Mexican pink or gold ones; the range may seem endless, along with the designs, all bright as works of art.
He has exhibited and demonstrated his craft within Mexico and abroad, including at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada. His pieces have been part of the WITS exhibition since 2016. With the support of the San Luis Potosí government, he also gives classes to young people, passing onto to a younger generation the skills involved in making rebozos. (raihan)