Rebozo - Production

Production

Mexico is the main producer and exporter of rebozos, but some are also produced in Spain and Portugal . 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 fiber being used. For example, rebozos made of real silk take longer to weave. Those made of rayon have about 3,000 warp threads on average and those made of real silk have about 3,800.

The dying process is done before weaving, with the most common technique being the ikat method, sometimes called “amarrado” (lit. stingy) In the most traditional work, thread is dyed with natural colors, with colors such as black, blue, red, purple and green but synthetic dyes are now often used. The patterns of the garment are determined by a sequence of colors dyed into the thread, with color changes made similar to tie-dying. Groups of threads are tied together tightly at intervals so that the dye cannot enter some areas. After dying, the knots are cut off. The weaving begins by cutting the warp threads to the length of the final product. The number of threads determines the width. They are woven on both backstrap looms and European style looms. The groups of warp threads are then placed on the loom in order to work out the design that the body of the cloth will have. After weaving, the last rows of the weft are finger weaved to secure them, which is complicated and meticulous work, often done by women specialized in this. 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. 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.

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, Moroleón and Uriangato in Guanajuato, 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 as well as the Cooperativa Textil Artesanal in the city of Oaxaca and Chiautempan, Tlaxcala, However, there are several important locations whose work are featured in important collections such as that of the Rockefeller family. These include Santa María del Río, Tenancingo and La Piedad.

Santa María del Río is a small rural town in the state of San Luis Potosí, containing country homes for the well-to-do in the city of San Luis Potosí. The entrance arch of the town states “Santa María del Río, cuña de rebozo” (Santa María del Río, cradle of the rebozo) . Even the local baseball time is named after rebozo weavers, called the “Reboceros.” It is known for its production of finely woven rebozos especially in silk and rayon, with cotton ones made as well. Weaving was introduced to the area shortly after the conquest and gained fame by the 17th century. Silk production was introduced originally in Oaxaca by the Dominicans. Despite prohibitions, Junípero Serra introduced their cultivation into the region in the 18th century, with silk production and weaving becoming widespread by the late 19th century into the 20th. The variety of silk traditionally used in these rebozos is called “catiteo.” After the Mexican Revolution, the haciendas producing silk were broken up and many weavers turned to rayon and very few are still made with pure silk. Their production is done by families, but only by the women, with a number winning national awards for their work. In Santa María the use of various browns is a distinguishing characteristic of the region. Other common colors are black, blue, red, purple and green along occasional white threads which appear as flecks in the final product. There are a number of traditional color combinations and designs with names such as calabrote, Rosita, rosarito, culebrilla calado and more. Santa Maria hosts a Feria del Rebozo in August and is home to the Escuela de Rebozo (Rebozo School) and a cooperative called the Taller Escuela de Rebocería.

The making of cotton rebozos is important in Tenancingo and an image of the garment appears in the municipality’s seal. 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 craft was developed in Tenancingo by the 17th century and reached its peak during the 19th century. The creation of the garment remains important both culturally and economically, with the work here recognized at the national and international levels. One of the town’s most important weavers is Evaristo Borboa.

The mountain areas of Michoacán have been noted for an indigo blue variety of rebozo, known as the Michoacán or Tarasco rebozo. In the 1930s and 1940s, the city of La Piedad, Michoacán became a major producer of rebozos of both natural and synthetic fibers. In 1946 the Unión de Reboceros de La Piedad was formed and in 1958, the Sindicato Único de Reboceros de La Piedad.