Ofelia Marín Márquez exchanges weaving techniques with Peace Corps Program participant during an off-stage cross program session.
Photo by Joe Furgal, Smithsonian Institution
Ofelia Marín Márquez cuts excess chusque from the basket she is weaving.
Photo by Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Smithsonian Institution
Ofelia Marín Márquez sits with Ana de Jesús Marín de Giraldo as they weave tripeperro style baskets.
Photo by JB Weilapp, Smithsonian Institution
Doña Ofelia Marín was born and raised in the San José neighborhood of Filandia. As a little girl, she learned at home how to weave with the excess or left-over materials from her parents and siblings. Now she weaves baskets from vines that she collects in the nearby forest. In addition to making baskets to sell, she participates in the annual desfile de yipao (jeep parade) by helping to decorate a jeep with her family.
"Money hangs on the trees in the mountains. That’s what we say, because when people are badly off, when they have no work or anything, they go to the forest to cut vines to sell them to those of us that weave."
