Some of our customers have asked if it is ok to wear the huipil (blouse) or is it insensitive or a form of cultural appropriation? To settle concerns, we asked one of the weavers to comment in her own words. Below is what she told us. It is the same text, in Spanish, English and Tsotsil.
“Nos sentimos muy comodas cuando una extranjera pone nuestra blusa. Pensamos que ella no es una mujer egoista, o sea que no se siente tan alta como a nosotras. Me siento muy contenta a ver que ya tiene en su cuerpo, como que tiene un corazón para nosotras. Pensamos que tiene un gran honradez a nosotras, un gran cariño a nosotras, y un gran apoya para nosotras.”
“We feel very comfortable when we see a foreigner wearing our blouse. We think that she isn’t an egotistic woman, that she doesn’t feel that she is better than us. I feel very happy to see that she wears it on her body, that she has a good heart for us. We think that she honors us, that she has great caring for us, that she gives us a lot of support.”
“Laj ka’i kutik lek o yu’un kutik k’alal li jun ants alimane te slapoj li k’ukutike, laj nop kutik li antes ma’uk toyo’va, jech ta xa’i mutoj toyoluk xaiba’ k’uchal li vo’one kutike, tey ta xka’i xi muyuvaj li vo’one tej taj k’el li oy tas vek’tal, li oy yo’ton taj tojolal kutike. Laj nopkutik li oy jun smu’k’ul taj tojolalkutik, jun muk’ sk’anvilun kutik, jun muk’ul koltael yak’ovun kutik taj tekelal kutik.”
Claudia Pérez Pérez, Chiapas, México, June 2017
