Rebozos

Overview

Celebrating both the rebozo as a cultural icon of Mexico and the series of rebozo-inspired paintings by Mexican–Californian artist Catalina Gárate, this bilingual collection of poems gives voices of strength, endurance, joy, and sorrow to the women of Gárate’s paintings. The rebozo is considered a physical manifestation of Mexican womanhood throughout every stage of life and can be used as a tool of daily labor: a sling to carry children, a shield from weather or from prying eyes, an heirloom, and even a shroud. Inspired by each painting, these poems, in both Spanish and English, are accompanied by a historical explanation of the role of the rebozo in Mexican history, art, and culture.

Reviews

"Rebozos: gracious labor of love, this bowing down/lifting up of generations of women and their exquisite unsung dignity, this sharing of spirit and artistry, carrying us all to 'the other side of tired.' Profound gratitude to the harmony of Carmen, Catalina, Hector, Rose, and Wings Press for their precious chime, echoing through homes and histories and neighborhoods, early mornings where the doves chant 'You, and You, and You.'"  —Naomi Shihab Nye, poet and novelist, You and Yours

"Many of us, regardless of age and gender will shed more than a few nostalgic and entrañable lagrimas savouring the heart wrenching poetry, while deeply sighing, musing on the rebozos' awesome beauty in this work, with their simultaneously evanescent and emotionally powerful appeal. Only our own wise women, Carmen and Cata can bring this ofrenda, of our very own 'quilt' culture, fashioned for aesthetics, seduction, as political statements, portabebés y más, and above all as individual and collective shields."  —Martha Cotera, author, The Chicana Feminist

"Each line, each brush stroke, each graceful movement of this creation celebrates the strength, glory, and power of woman. This beautiful book evokes revolution, but not the typical version of it. Rather this is a revolution of passion and compassion; of understanding and nurturance. This is a book of elated cultural fervor danced in a costume held so close to a woman's heart that it is her other skin: her rebozo. This book relates a revolution only women could lead."  —Kathy Vargas, photographer and professor, The University of the Incarnate Word

"Rebozos is an incandescent interweaving of poems and paintings depicting multiple patterns of women's experience. It is an ardent tour-de-force that enchants the spirit and haunts the imagination."  —Tomás Ybarra Frausto, art and literary critic

"Rebozos—which features passionate poems by San Antonio's Poet Laureate Carmen Tafolla and haunting paintings by California artist Catalina Gárate García—is a magnificent art book that re-creates the originality of Mexican rebozos in vivid images and colors. Simultaneously it is a celebration of womanhood and a gift book rich in cultural history."  —San Antonio Express-News

"Rebozos creates a sacred space for all women where many languages are spoken, all ages are represented, all kinds of women are welcome: soldaderas, curanderas, lovers, brujas, mothers of children and of the land. Gárate's images, together with Tafolla's poems, tell the story of women who carry their stories in and on their bodies."  —SA Current magazine

"Carmen Tafolla's Rebozos captures the multiple meanings of the rebozo—the Mexican shawl . . . . Accompanied by Catalina Gárate García's oil paintings, Tafolla's bilingual volume of sixteen poems profoundly demonstrates the strength and beauty of women who use the rebozo in their everyday lives." —Dorsía Smith, Rocky Mountain Review

Author Biography

Carmen Tafolla is a professor at the University of Texas-San Antonio. She is the author of more than 20 books, including Curandera, The Holy Tortilla and a Pot of Beans, and Sonnets and Salsa, and the recipient of numerous literary honors, including the Américas Award, the Art of Peace Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Award, two Tomás Rivera Mexican-American Book Awards, and two International Latino Book Awards. She is a member of the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame and was named the first poet laureate of San Antonio. She lives in San Antonio, Texas. Catalina GárateGarcía is an artist and an illustrator. Her works have been exhibited in San Jose, Fresno, Austin, McAllen, Corpus Christi, and El Paso. She lives in San Jose, California. Hector García Manzanedo, PhD, was a noted anthropologist and professor of sociology at San Jose State University for more than 20 years. He was a museographer at the Museo Antropológico de México who also worked in indigenous communities in Mexico.