I am exploring the nature and culture of Puerto Rico and unveiling its historical and traditional values it poses. A lot of people know Puerto Rico as the Enchanted Island for its touristic areas and that it is a territory of the United States, but it is dense in heritage and history. I wish to express my knowledge and admiration of Puerto Rican culture and nature through embroidered designs and fashions. I visited “Centro Ceremonial Indígena” and was able to learn about the first inhabitants of PR.  I learned that the Taíno Indians were the first ones to call the Island Borikén. At the present time Puerto Rico is well known as Borinquen and its people are called Boricuas. There are variety of landforms that in PR.  On the east side of the island, is the “El Yunque Rainforest”, on the westside there are dry forest of Guánica.  It’s an adventure to visit the Camuy Caverns, the waterfalls in Gozalandia, the high mountains of Jayuya, and the beaches, among others. Puerto Rico is rich in history; El Viejo San Juan is a popular destination for tourists, but a less frequented area is the first Firehouse in Ponce. The Firehouse was built for the first firefighters. The local law enforces just the blood descendants of those firefighters to live in those houses. Significant places like this one will be included in my design.

I am taking what I am learning from History of Modern Puerto Rico class, along with the personal experiences of my family members and my own, as my primary sources and inspiration for the project. The History of Modern Puerto Rico class encourages outside of class activities like visiting events such as “La Fiesta Boricua de Bandera a Bandera”, tours to see the murals around the area, tours to learn about the social agencies and resources for the community.  All of them are connected to the topic of Puerto Rican culture and social issues. There is still a lot of this I have yet to learn about my heritage, so I took the class for both inspiration and to learn more about my identity as a Puerto Rican woman. I feel connected to my culture even though I was born here in Chicago. I visit the Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park and participated in the Puerto Rican Parade. Most of my family members are still living in Puerto Rico. The things they mention about their life living in Puerto Rico often made me grow more curious and excited about my heritage.

According to Importance of ‘Traditional’ Dresses to Africans in Diaspora, “Clothing and dress as a social activity and obligation show our sex, profession, social status/class, and are symbols of communication, have aesthetic value, indicates one’s nobility, shows one’s ethnic or other identities, protect from the environment etc.” This quote is inspiring because it is explaining what I am trying to do with my designs.

In Explore Traditional Clothing from Around the World, it said, “What we wear is more than just material sewn together to protect us, our clothes are a signifier of our identity and culture.” This quote is also inspiring because it is a reminder that there is more to fashion then stuff to make people look good. By using a traditional style dress and/or cultural designs, it can show a part of my own heritage and identity.

When the project is completed, I will gain more experience in sewing and embroidery and it is possible that I will follow in my abuelita’s (grandmother’s) footsteps by helping people with it.  I heard that, one of the ways my abuelita helped others was by making and giving away clothes to people at low cost. I already have multiple design ideas. So, once I complete at least one of my designs for the project, it is possible that I will continue making the ideas into reality and it will help me to build my portfolio.