DAY OF THE DEAD ARPILLERA PERU COOPERATIVE FOLK ART

ARPILLERAS OR CUADROS, EXQUISITELY DETAILED, HAND-SEWN, 3-DIMENSIONAL TEXTILE PICTURES ILLUSTRATE THE STORIES OF THE LIVES OF THE WOMEN OF THE SHANTYTOWNS (PUEBLO JOVENES) IN LIMA, PERU AND PROVIDE ESSENTIAL INCOME FOR THEIR FAMILIES.

ARPILLERAS ORIGINATED IN CHILE, WHERE WOMEN, WHO WERE POLITICAL PRISONERS, WERE HELD DURING THE PINOCHET REGIME.  THEY USED THEM TO CAMOUFLAGE NOTES SENT TO HELPERS OUTSIDE.  EVEN THE MOST SUSPICIOUS GUARDS DID NOT THINK TO CHECK THE APPLIQUED PICTURES FOR MESSAGES, SINCE SEWING WAS SEEN AS INCONSEQUENTIAL"WOMEN'S WORK".

TODAY, ARPILLERAS ARE CREATED IN A NUMBER OF COOPERATIVES LOCATED IN THE DUSTY SHANTYTOWNS OF POOR & DISPLACED FAMILIES THAT RING THE CAPITAL CITY OF LIMA.  OFTEN HOMES ARE SHACKS COMPOSED OF SALVAGED PARTS: OLD DOORS, PANELS OF STRAW MATTING & CORRUGATED METAL.  WATER MUST BE TRUCKED IN AS THERE ARE NO WATER OR SEWAGE SYSTEMS.  OFTEN THE INCOME FROM THE SALE OF THESE CREATIVE TREASURES PROVIDES THE ONLY SOURCE OF INCOME FOR FAMILUIES DISPLACED FROM THEIR TRADITIONAL LIVES IN THE MOUNTAINS.  FOR OTHERS, THIS INCOME ALLOWS THE FAMILY TO EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN AND PROVIDE A BETTER LIVING STANDARD.

ARPILLERAS TELL THE STORIES OF LIFE: PLANTING & HARVESTING CROPS, SPINNING & WEAVING WOOL, COUNTRY LIFE, TENDING OF SHEEP & GOATS AND STORIES OF WEDDING & FIESTAS.

Dia de los Muertos is a unique Mexico tradition.  Muertos is an affirmation and reflection on life.  A time during which the community remembers its' dead with affection and respect.  It notes the passage of time and gives young and old a time to meditate on life's impermance.HIstorically, the Aztecs celebrated a variety of ceremonies honoring the dead.  Ochpaniztli, "the sweeping of the way", was one such ceremony.  Every home was swept and cleaned.  Household items such as pottery were destroyed and replaced as part of a later ceremony.  During Panquetzaliztli , special foods were eaten and offered to the dead including candy & sugar offerings, special breads and sauces.  So deeply were these ceremonies of respect and recognition ingrained into the indigenous psyche that they continue to the present.