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.

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.” 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.” These quotes are inspiring because they explain what I am trying to do with my designs and act as a reminder that there is more to fashion than 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. I am creating a modified version of a traditional Puerto Rican dress called a Bomba Dress. Bamba is one of the traditional styles of music and dancing in PR culture.

According to “CON EL ECO DE LOS BARRILES: RACE, GENDER AND THE BOMBA IMAGINARY IN PUERTO RICO by Carlos Alamo-Pastrana”, “Bomba music developed in Puerto Rico sometime after the beginning of the trans-Atlantic African slave trade in 1501. The importation of African slaves to the Americas started during this time, in part as a response to the large concentrations of local indigenous populations that had been exterminated in a mass genocide within the first fifty years of the Spanish colonial project on the island.”

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.