9.4 Dressing the Jíbaros: Puerto Rican Peasants' Clothing Through Time and Space

The jíbaro is to Puerto Rico what the apple pie is to the United States. Simply put, the jíbaro is symbol of Puerto Rican culture. The jíbaro is a mountain-dwelling, Puerto Rican peasant of Spanish descent who worked as a farmer.
When one hears the word jíbaro, two connotations come to mind: an uneducated, person lacking social manners or it can be connected to a productivity of the thriving lands of Puerto Rico through the hard work of peasants. The other symbol of Puerto Rico is a small, brown frog called the coquí. Many Puerto Ricans believe that the coquí is unable to live outside of Puerto Rico. This draws a parallel to the frog and the jíbaro. Many believe that the jíbaro are unequipped to live outside of the island as well. Puerto Rican literature portrays this idea in many writings. For example, the story of Pepe Coquí follows his migration from Puerto Rico to New York only to find that he can live or only feels comfortable in Puerto Rico with his return to the island shortly thereafter. Of course we all feel comfortable about where we come from because it is embedded in who we are. This should not stop anyone from exploring other parts of the world to becoming a global citizen. If we are afraid to step out of our comfort zone, how will we grow? The jíbaro was accustomed to walking barefoot and their clothing mostly consisted of functional clothing to work in. Women wore loose skirts and peasant style blouses while the men wore trousers and worked shirtless or wore sleeveless tshirts with a straw hat. These outfit choices wore a clear indicator that they were considered outsiders.

To be accepted by their more urban counterparts they would have to adapt their clothing to fit into an evolving Puerto Rican landscape. How many times growing up did you want to fit in to be accepted? Especially as teenagers it is hard to find your own identity because you just want to be liked by your peers. I am in no way advocating that the jíbaro stay stagnant and not change. I do believe that it is important to remain connected to who you are and that may be difficult in an ever changing world.
As the jíbaro was being depicted more heavily in Latin literature and art, the romanticization of the jíbaro was in full effect. Portraits often portrayed the jíbaro in beautiful, colorful ensembles with bright colors and lace embellishments having a momentous occasion. This was thought of as disrespectful because their plight of poverty and being thougt of as outcasts had been ignored. The image of American slaves and artwork comes to mind. Artists of that time and slave owners often portrayed slaves as happy and joyous, grateful to be in America working against their will.
Another example of romanticizing the jíbaro was Mattel's 1997 Barbie. She was criticized for the lack of representation amongst many mixed race Puerto Ricans and they felt her dress was a poor representation of what the jíbaros might have actually worn. The author notes that the white dress with lace was never on record as being worn by a peasant in Puerto Rico. The dress was accompanied by high heels and a ring, none of which a peasant would have been able to afford. As we have seen before and will continue to see, products are manufactured with historical inaccuracy to make a profit instead of remaining true to the core of one's roots.

Mattel's 1997 Puerto Rican Barbie.

Stereotypes within Cultural Affluences

-Ireland is known for potatoes and red heads with freckles
-London is known for the Queen and double decker buses traveling the city
-China is known for their pandas (In American culture, Panda Express) and their widely popularized foods
-Russia is known for Vodka and their ruthless culture of no fear
-Mexico is known for their popular foods (Much like China) and their beers/tequila
-Canada is known for their Maple Bacon and their two languages in one country
-France is known for their pastries and fashion influence
-Italy is known for their canal based water ways and their leather goods as well as the invention of Pizza & Pasta
-America is known for our fast food and lazy lifestyles

The question though that remains, is what happens when we remove our common stereotypes and attempt to put a true face to these places and people? As human beings, we have these predetermined notions of categorizing into stereotypes.
It's how the human brain works, it compartmentalizes to give ease in recalling information, but most times, people are fine with only being aware of the major associations or commonly thought ideals that associate with each country/culture. This is on a broad scale of just the culture/country itself. We are not even going into the idea of stereotyping the subcultures that make up these cultures/countries. We see this as a major disadvantage though because as stated in the article recap above, people and countries are not being represented to the world in their true manner. They are painted in a picture of how we wish to see them or rather how most think of them as. We see the inaccuracies with the Jibaros and the barbie that was created to express these people to the vast world. It gives the idea of how we can once again compartmentalize these people into a category of
South American culture and how they are typically viewed. This however, is a major disgrace to these people, and can even be considered rude/hurtful. If someone said that you were loud, obnoxious, and annoying merely because you come from America, you would be offended wouldn't you? It would be the same way if the Jibaros were questioned as to why they are not wearing ornate clothing or jewelry. It is simply not their culture or their way of life.

We must be aware and think deeper into this association of stereotyping people just by where they are from. It would be in the same way that you would not go up to someone from Russia and automatically assume they are a spy or reformed KGB. We must use scrutiny and detail orientation when trying to express a culture and how one should be typically viewed, otherwise, as we have seen, the results become disastrous and offensive.