Alba Hermida Beltrán and Areli Hernández Vega sit at the Me Contaron Los Abuelos stage.
Photo courtesy of Embassy of Colombia in Washington, D.C.
Alba Herminda Beltrán demonstrates braiding the clineja, or palmiche strip, used for making a hat in the tapia pisada style, which she wears and holds on her lap.
Photo courtesy of Embassy of Colombia in Washington, D.C.
Dora Flor Alba Briceño, presenter Catalina Cavelier, Alba Hermida Beltrán, and Areli Hernández Vega sit at the Me Contaron Los Abuelos stage.
Photo courtesy of Embassy of Colombia in Washington, D.C.
Alba Hermida Beltrán and Areli Hernández Vega sit at the Me Contaron Los Abuelos stage to discuss the fibers used for their crafts.
Photo courtesy of Embassy of Colombia in Washington, D.C.
Alba Hermida Beltrán demonstrates braiding the clineja, or palmiche strip, used for making a hat in the tapia pisada style.
Photo by Michelle Arbeit, Smithsonian Institution
Alba Hermida Beltrán makes a hat in the tapia pisada style.
Photo by Michelle Arbeit, Smithsonian Institution
Alba Betrán uses the palmiche palm, which grows in the Andean Highlands, to make tapia pisada hats in a style that dates back to colonial times. She also uses the tapia pisada technique of braided palmiche woven with fique strands to make placemats, bags, and coasters. In her kitchen, she prepares the traditional highland wheat arepa. In her farm, Alba grows blackberries and tomate de árbol (tree tomatoes) to help support her family.
"My mother learned from my grandmother, and, among her daughters, I was the one who continued with the hat-making tradition."
