Celebrating both the rebozo as a cultural icon of Mexico and the series of rebozo-inspired paintings by Mexican-California 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.
"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
"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."
