Rebozos from Santa Maria del Rio

Way back when I was in college I spent a summer in San Luis Potosí, the major city just to the north of Santa María del Río on Hwy 57. That's when I first heard of the famous rebozos of silk which were so fine that they could pass through a wedding ring.

Santa María del Río bills itself as the "cradle of the rebozo." That's sort of a switch, because rebozos are what Mexican women have traditionally cradled their young in, held close to the breast and away from prying eyes. From the literature given to me at the shop, the word rebozo comes from the word arrebozarse, which means to cover one's face. It was the Moors (surprise, surprise) who brought this custom to Spain and applied it -- of course -- to women. Women, in turn, have made rebozos into works of art.

More recently I read Sandra Cisnero's book Caramelo which I absolutely loved. The main character is fascinated by the caramelo design of her grandmother's rebozo, a family heirloom from Santa Maria del Rio. I wanted to see what one looked like, so Larry and I got off the highway and explored. I saw the sign on the display in the first little shop we stopped at. (It's a tiny little sign on orange paper in the photo.) Shopkeeper Ana Maria kindly explained that a caramelo design must have seven different colors, and each is distinct for its intricacy and the difficulty of the work. The silk one she is wearing is priced at $6,500 pesos. (Remember, divide by ten for rough estimate in U.S. dollars) Can you even imagine what it would be at Nordstrom's or Neiman’s??!!