My heart leapt with joy when I received the invitation. Especially, representing the embroiderers of my town was the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me.
It all started with the international flight, when I received details for our pleasant trip and later learned that the curtains, uniforms and fabrics used on LATAM flights get a second chance at life when they reach the hands of artisans who turn them into handmade purses, bags, hats and souvenirs.
Arrival at the hotel was a balm to our being, a delicious dinner, and a cosy room.
Our first binational meeting took place at the Lima Art Museum. The exchange of knowledge, experiences, and shared wisdom was a learning journey that led us to reflect on our similarities and the importance of protecting and preserving our cultural identity.
The Yucatecan embroideries are vibrant, colourful and most of them are embroidered with the flora and fauna of Yucatan, it is the set of love and the way to capture the designs in the varied white or black fabrics, mostly linen, and know how to shade with those cotton threads that contrast with the beautiful looms of the Peruvian friends.
A tour of the museum led us to learn about the history of its embroidery and its origin, coinciding with Yucatan in the fact that it is the heritage of our grandparents.
The walk in the centre of Lima was great because, being unfamiliar with everything, the explanations took us into the history of the city and made it coincide with our own. Here the conquistador was the Spaniard Francisco Pizarro. They told us how the buildings and the cathedral were constructed, and how, over time, wars and earthquakes have affected many of the main buildings.
The second day was for me something exceptional and exciting. Apart from seeing the desert sands, we were taken to share our knowledge with artisans from Cajamarca, Ayacucho, and Lima at the Pachacamac Museum. There I met the craftswomen who work with the LATAM programme called Segundo Vuelo (Second Flight), a programme where they reuse and create even threads with PET and embroider everything mentioned above with designs printed on fabric with silkscreen printing.
The stitches shared, the techniques to make the fabrics, the tools so different from ours, but above all the beautiful coexistence that took place with the women with magical hands, we carry them in our minds, in our hearts and in the little piece of fabric that we embrace tightly as a souvenir of this wonderful trip to Lima, Peru.
I am grateful for life to UNESCO, BANORTE and Latam Airlines for the opportunity they gave me to live this experience.
by MarÃa Dalila Casanova, member of the State Council of Women Embroiderers of Yucatán and participant in the project of Economic and Social Development with a Gender Perspective through Textile Art of UNESCO in Mexico with the sponsorship of Banorte Foundation and the collaboration of the Government of Yucatán.
The Binational Textile Art Gathering was organized by UNESCO in Lima and Mexico.
