Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace. There are other types of lace, such as knitted or crocheted lace. Other laces such as these are considered as a category of their specific craft. Knitted lace, therefore, is an example of knitting. This article considers both needle lace and bobbin lace.
Sila María Calderón Serra is a Puerto Rican politician, businesswoman, and philanthropist who was the governor of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She is the first woman elected to that office. Prior to her term as governor, Calderón held various positions in the government of Puerto Rico, including the 12th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico from 1988 to 1989, and Chief of Staff to Governor Rafael Hernández Colón. She was also mayor of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, from 1997 to 2001.
Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually determined by a pattern or pricking pinned on the pillow.
The music of Puerto Rico has evolved as a heterogeneous and dynamic product of diverse cultural resources. The most conspicuous musical sources have been Spain and West Africa, although many aspects of Puerto Rican music reflect origins elsewhere in Europe and the Caribbean. Puerto Rican music culture today comprises a wide and rich variety of genres, ranging from essentially indigenous genres like bomba to recent hybrids like Latin trap and reggaeton. Broadly conceived, the realm of "Puerto Rican music" should naturally comprise the music culture of the millions of people of Puerto Rican descent who have lived in the United States, and especially in New York City. Their music, from salsa to the boleros of Rafael Hernández, cannot be separated from the music culture of Puerto Rico itself.
Moca is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico, located in the north-western region of the island, north of Añasco; southeast of Aguadilla; east of Aguada; and west of Isabela and San Sebastián. Moca is spread over 12 barrios and Moca Pueblo. It is part of the Aguadilla-Isabela-San Sebastián Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. It is a one-time only award and fellows must be living citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Each year, fellowships are presented to between nine and fifteen artists or groups at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Rafael Cepeda Atiles, recognized as "The Patriarch of the Bomba and Plena", was the patriarch of the Cepeda family, known internationally as ambassadors of Afro-Puerto Rican folk music.
Antonio Broccoli Porto is an American artist, visual artist and sculptor.
Pura Belpré was the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City. She was also a writer, collector of folktales, and puppeteer.
Giannina Braschi is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include Empire of Dreams (1988), Yo-Yo Boing! (1998) and United States of Banana (2011).
William Richard Cumpiano is a builder of stringed musical instruments and is known for his writing and teaching of the art of luthiery. He has been involved in the preservation and understanding of the fading musical and musical craft traditions of his native Puerto Rico. Cumpiano was instrumental in the development of the first feature-length documentary about the cuatro and its music, Our Cuatro: The Puerto Ricans and Stringed Instruments, Volumes 1 and 2.
Herminia Albarrán Romero is a Mexican-American artist known for her papel picado and altar-making. She received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2005, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.
Antonio Cabán Vale, a.k.a. "El Topo", is a guitarist, singer and composer of Puerto Rican folkloric themes. He is one of the founders of the "new song" movement of the early 1970s. His danza Verde Luz became a popular symbol of national dignity, to the point that it is viewed by many as almost a second national anthem, and has been interpreted by international singers.
Mundillo is a craft of handmade bobbin lace that is cultivated and honored on the island of Puerto Rico and Panama. The term 'mundillo' means 'little world', referring to the cylindrical pillow on which the lace maker ('Mundillista') weaves intricate designs. The decorative lace is created using wooden bobbins about the diameter of a pencil, which are wound with thread that is twisted and crossed to form a pattern. Depending on the pattern, as few as two dozen or as many as several hundred bobbins may be used.
Juan Bobo is a folkloric character on the island of Puerto Rico. For nearly two centuries a collection of books, songs, riddles and folktales have developed around him. Hundreds of children's books have been written about Juan Bobo in English and Spanish. Juan Bobo stories are used as instructional models in public school districts and libraries throughout the United States and on PBS Television.
Bedfordshire lace is a style of bobbin lace originating from Bedfordshire in the 19th century, and made in the English Midlands lacemaking area. It was worked as a continuous width on a bolster pillow. It is a guipure style of lace.
The recorded history of women in Puerto Rico can trace its roots back to the era of the Taíno, the indigenous people of the Caribbean, who inhabited the island that they called "Boriken" before the arrival of Spaniards. During the Spanish colonization the cultures and customs of the Taíno, Spanish, African and women from non-Hispanic European countries blended into what became the culture and customs of Puerto Rico.
Edwin Colón Zayas, often called a genius and virtuous cuatrista, is a highly accomplished musician of Puerto Rico, known for his use and promotion of the Puerto Rican cuatro, an instrument that plays like a guitar, but is shaped closer to the violin. He joins a large number of Puerto Rican artists, "innovative tradition-bearing," who focus their talents in extolling the virtues of the Puerto Rican creole and Jibaro way of life.
Carmen Rivera is an American playwright, teacher, and producer. Working for over 20 years in the arts, she is best known for her play La Gringa (1996) and the musical Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz (2007), which she co-wrote with playwright and husband Cándido Tirado.
Ipswich lace is a historical fashion accessory, the only known American hand-made bobbin lace to be commercially produced. Centered in the coastal town of Ipswich, Massachusetts north of Boston, a community of lacemaking arose in the 18th century. Earliest known records indicate that lace produced by local women was used to barter for goods in the 1760s, as denoted by ledger account books belonging to local merchants. These laces were sold in the region from Boston to Maine.
