Session 78 summary
TDF Session 78 was a bilingual TDF Session, the first step in removing language barriers and connecting with different places rich in tribal/indigenous culture. The translator for this Session was Sakshi Lambhate, a postgraduate in Spanish language from JNU.
In Bolivia there are 36 indigenous communities and Glenda belongs to the markeza/Machinere community. Before the Spanish invasion in Bolivia people used to wear indigenous dresses but after the invasion there were some changes that came in their way of dressing. Earlier they used to wear something similar to Indian poncho with a broach known as topou and a different kind of skirt known as pollera. After the invasion there were some changes in their way of dressing, like the head accessory which Glenda wears and many small things were taken from the Spanish culture creating a mixture in their dressing sense. After the invasion the indigenous population almost lost all their rights and they were enslaved to do various odd jobs and there was also discrimination against them on their way of dressing. There was a mood of sadness everywhere and everybody was sad about their treatment. The women who used to wear the traditional dresses or the indigenous women who were there were not allowed to enter into restaurants or any public places where social gatherings used to take place. But in 2010 Evo Morales became the president of Bolivia and he brought changes in the rights of indigenous people which were inclusive of indigenous people and tried to get rid of racism and discrimination, after which the women felt very empowered and respected. After this law was passed there was a lot of tourism where a lot of foreigners came and showed interest in the indigenous population and their way of dressing and they tried to show that to the world through their photographs. The glamour of the indigenous woman was portrayed to the world and that was how people felt very empowered and free than before. They want to pass this tradition to their newer generation, they want their young girls to look upto their way of dressing and they also want to show the world how the fashion of New York or Paris is and they can also have such tradition and portray their indigenous way of dressing to the whole world and feel proud of it. Firstly, people used to look at the women wearing pollera as dirty or poor. The pictures of them shared in the world was mostly of women working in the field or portrayed as poor. They were portrayed poorly and that was not the reality of the people who used to live there. The people felt very bad about it and they want to change this image through/with fashion and portray the women as fashionistas with rich fashion.
Glenda wants to tell how one law can change the life of women, now they feel much empowered because they can walk in their streets with their indigenous dresses which they can show to the world. Even visit every place in that city as they were earlier confined to the villages at but now they can walk in the cities freely. They can also take hierarchal jobs that there are in the society and feel equal to every other women in the society, this is empowering for them. They think that this is the power- the indigenous way of dressing, which they want to pass to the coming generation that they can feel interested in their own culture and not get influenced by other fashion and feel proud about their own thing. There are many things like dances, festivals, etc. that the indigenous celebrate where the designers come into play as people want to wear something new and indigenous. The people mix the coats, hats and their costumes for the newer generation to show their interest in this type of dressing. For this they look at the pictures that are there in the internet and mix whatever they feel can be included for the newer generation to show interest. Glenda infuses indigenous culture in her works. Glenda has three children, the eldest one is 20 years old and the younger ones are entering their teens, she wants them to wear what she designs/creates and to carry it forward. The dresses designed by Glenda have skirts with many frills, they are quite unique. The skirts have petticoats inside them giving them a fuller look at the bottom. There is use of laces and pearls which Glenda has come up with in those dresses and they are brighter so that people get attracted to them when looking at them. The elements on the dresses are handmade, it was a way they started modernising their dresses according to recent trends. In this world of fashion these dresses are considered of high end fashion and everything is made by hands and they are all customized- the people get them made according to their body and requirements. Glenda has to change her collection every three months because the requirement is high as the women have to wear those dresses in festivals and they prefer wearing different dresses in each festival. So, it is encouraging to Glenda to produce new collection in her company. These dresses have petticoats in between to make it look fluffier, for that 13 meter of cloth is used. They wear six petticoats along with it, on the top of it and under the skirts. These costumes are of high end fashion and they modernise them on the day to day basis, try to integrate newer things into their designs. They use a lot of tools to prepare the dresses heavy and beautiful. The upper part of the dress is prepared with 6 metres of cloth and the dresses depend on the festivals. The design ranges from all ages of women; the old to the younger generations, even the small kids, Glenda wants to give them the taste of indigenous dresses and to make them feel that these are also important and they matter. Even if the girls don’t wear these dresses to their colleges, their mothers try to make them wear these dresses on the festivals so that they don’t forget their indigenous culture. With the modernization of these dresses they also go back to their culture and see how the things were and how the dresses were in the past and try to mix the past and the future.
For the designers, the designs are very important and with the dawn of modernizing indigenous dresses there are still some indigenous women who want to preserve the original one as well. At present times they are trying to preserve this culture and still they face discrimination but they have the sense of equality that the indigenous women feel and so they want to preserve these dresses and feel empowered with whatever they have of their culture and traditions and show it to the international world as well.
About the Speaker
Glenda Yañez
Glenda Yañez is a designer, artist and model based in La Paz, Bolivia. Glenda belongs to the Aymara community, and she champions the clothes of her ancestors and is turning them into high fashion, changing preconceptions about the traditional dress of indigenous Aymara women. The chola wardrobe is a fashion distinctive to South America’s second largest indigenous group, the Aymara people. Glenda is not just making fashion statements through the clothes of her indigenous ancestors and turning them into high fashion, she’s also making a “political” statement. The garments worn by her grandmother and other Aymara women, known as Cholas or Cholitas, made them the target of discrimination. Now these embroidered outfits are worn with pride. Fashion designer Glenda Yañez is the Urban Voice of the Aymara women and Aymara culture. The Aymara indigenous nation has been in the Andes for centuries and almost a million Aymaras live in Bolivia, Peru and Chile. As a designer Glenda has participated in the Iconoclast parade, UN Women Art Week, charity parade against violence against women. She has been interviewed by Vice USA and Canada, BBC London, Air France and allowed her the showcase to present her work and promote the indigenous Bolivian culture and heritage
