The art of working with colored tissue paper probably came to Mexico from the Far East, via the famous Manilla galleons that regularly crossed the Pacific to Acapulco during the 17th and 18th centuries. Once here, it took on a multitude of forms and uses – piñatas. cascarones, papel picado, and paper flowers.
Paper flower making in particular has reached high artistic levels in Mexico, with the artists, mostly women and girls, creating exact reproductions of various blooms from paper, yarn, and other materials. It is not unusual to find women who can successfully mimic twelve or even sixteen different species of flower!
JOSEFINA LIZÁRRAGA
Josefina Lizárraga was born in the west-coast state of Nayarit, Mexico. She learned to make paper flowers as a girl, and studied for a while in a paper flower factory in her home community of Estación Ruiz, Nayarit. She and other young women would make flowers that were sold as far away as Acapulco, where they would be used as table centerpieces in the great resort hotels of that city.
To give an example of the complexity of the craft she learned, here are the steps she used in making the stamens for some flowers: First she would unravel yarn from gunny sacks, and roll the threads in flower and water glue (which she had previously made). Then she would grind up some rice flour in a mortar and pestle, add a little yellow pigmentation, and carefully roll each strip of prepared yarn in the resulting powder. THEN she would be ready to start on the rest of the flower!
Here in Tucson, Josefina Lizárraga operates the West Boutique Florist shop on St. Mary's Road. That keeps her busy indeed, and she saves her paper flower making skills for occasions like Tucson Meet Yourself, when she can pass them on to others. We welcome Josefina to our festival, and hope she enjoys herself here. |
