The announcement for this event came up on my social media newsfeed – the algorithm knows I appreciate things Boricua. So, I signed up for the free event and put on my Puerto Rican socks with Taíno symbols and Flor de Magas, big hoop earrings, and the flag colors – blue jeans, white sleeveless sweater, and red cardigan. I was ready.

Before leaving Queens, I planned to run two errands but then decided to just do one. Which meant that I got to the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) one hour before I needed to be there. But I thought I would go into their museum(MFIT) to kill the time. Unfortunately, the current exhibit was closed for some reason. There was an exhibit on student created textiles in the lobby, so I looked at those and it was interesting and there was so much creativity – how they could imagine a design and then create it. It would have been fun to be there during the weaving demonstrations. And I thought that rtb would be able to appreciate this more than I could.

Then I sat outside for a while and it is a great spot for people watching because you are watching fashion design students in all their glory.

When I figured the amphitheater was open, I made my way there, which is across the street from the museum. In that lobby was another exhibit – Adapt/Evolve, which features accessible designs of fashion, toys, and furniture created by students, faculty, and alumni. Another very interesting exhibit.

As I entered the amphitheater, I asked the woman at the door where the bathroom was. She explained that I had to go downstairs and make a couple of turns. I showed my ticket and started to go down the stairs but turned around and told the ticket taker that the other woman had explained to me where the bathroom was and I had already forgotten. We all laughed at my senility and I got the instructions again.

I found a good seat and saw a woman a few rows ahead with quite a chapeau. And I knew if this was assigned seating, that I would have ended up directly behind her.

The interviewees – FIT Associate Professor José Blanco F. and independent researcher Raúl J Vázquez-López – talked about their book Dress, Fashion, and National Identity in Puerto Rico: Taínos to Beauty Queens with MFIT’s Senior Curator of Education Tanya Meléndez-Escalante conducting the interview.

The idea for the book began when Blanco and Vázquez-López were visiting Vázquez-López’ hometown of Hatillo in Puerto Rico for Christmas. Blanco is Costa Rican and the two have been married for 25 years. There is a celebration there during the holidays and for years only the men dressed up but now the women do also – originally wearing masks, so you could not see the gender. And as the women have become involved the costumes have gone from simple ruffles to quite elaborate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carnival celebrations in Puerto Rico involve vejigante masks in Loíza (made from hollowed out coconuts) and Ponce (papier-mâché).

The interesting thing is that many of the photos shown were taken at the Puerto Rican Day Parade because you will see every type of fashion through the years in Puerto Rico walk by during the parade. (The Loíza vejigante is from the parade. I could tell the Ponce vejigante photo was taken in Ponce because of the distinct El Parque de Bombas behind it.)

There are 3.2 million people in Puerto Rico but about 6 million in the diaspora. And when you talk about Puerto Rico, you are not just talking about the island but also about the 6 million people dispersed throughout the world. Puerto Ricans in the diaspora are more likely to dress in a way that references or represents Puerto Rico – including wearing the flag or colors or Taíno symbols.  

And while previous generations of Puerto Rican fashion designers rarely referenced Puerto Rico, that has changed with the younger designers. Culturally, things Boricua has grown because of artists like Jennifer Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Bad Bunny.

Héctor Omar’s Flor de Maga jacket. Or his hat that not only references the pava – the hat of the Jíbaro – but also a rooster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Omar’s Ballroom inspired by the Antigua Casino (see the chandelier pieces) but also inspired by the queer ballroom scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is Gabriel Ocasio’s collection inspired by Julia de Burgos.

 

 

 

 

Speaking of pavas – you will see them referenced in a lot of things. From paintings from the time Puerto Rican painters decided to focus on their own people instead of painting things European to political parties to advertising to Bad Bunny. It is a shorthand for reference to the self-sustaining farmers of Puerto Rico, the people who work in the mountains, and the people who represent the island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“What’s a Puerto Rican body if it’s not moving?” – José Blanco F.

Puerto Rican Barbie, who sits in Blanco’s office (they named her Dominga Julita). People were horrified when they took her out of her box because she would no longer be a collector’s item. When this Barbie was released, there were complaints that she was too white and that she was too dark. That the white dress and white heels represent the rich and not the Jíbaros. But the dress also represents the bomba – a dance first performed by the enslaved in Puerto Rico and is now one of the traditional dances of Puerto Rico.

The Young Lords, originally formed in Chicago but became famous for the NYC’s chapter’s protests, wore berets and camouflage like the Black Panthers. At the DePaul Art Museum there is currently an exhibit on the Young Lords. DePaul holds the Young Lords’ archives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can call what Walter Mercado wears “costume” but it is also fashion since it was his every day clothes. And the Puerto Rican women in the Miss Universe and other pageants seem to be inspired by him amongst others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was such an interesting discussion and if you would like to read more you can buy the book. I started to stand on line to get a signed copy but the line was long and the authors were busy speaking with people who ambushed them as they left the stage. Then I looked online and it is much more expensive than I am willing to pay at this time. For a less expensive alternative, you can read their academic paper.

In the meantime, here are some photos to satisfy you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I thought I might have a child with Jack, one of the things I wanted to do was to create a christening gown that married lace from Puerto Rico with lace from Ireland – both laces famous.