The guayabera, as Cuban as the palm trees

By: Claudia Álvarez Delgado
Photos: Rolando Pujol

The guayabera, that shirt with four pockets and vertical plaids terminated with buttons, is the typical garment of Cuban males. It is made of light fabric as linen and cotton, with short or long sleeves. Some are embroidered and the feminine version is as long as a shirt-dress. Comfortable, elegant, ideal for our tropical climate, the guayabera is appropriate for special occasions. In fact, it is the official garment of the Diplomatic Corps and other public officials representing the country on appointment of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Though there is no consensus, many scholars coincide in that it was born in Cuba in the XVIII century in the Yayabo River area, thus it was originally called “yayabera”. An old couplet reveals the reason for the re-baptism clearly alleged to the sweet fruit: “And it is called guayabera/ by its very simple name/ filling up the pockets/ with parakeet guavas”. With time, the designs varied and its popularity spread until it reached other Caribbean and Central American countries, in some of them called habanera.

The central province of Sancti Spiritus, considered birthplace of this piece, hosts in its museum a socio cultural project named La Guayabera, exhibiting some of them belonging to Cuban and American personalities. These have been donated by Alicia Alonso; presidents Raúl Castro, Evo Morales and Hugo Chávez; the musician Compay Segundo; ex President Fidel Castro; Literature Nobel Prizes Gabriel García Márquez and Miguel Angel Asturias; the boxing champion Teófilo Stevenson, among others. There is no doubt that this unique project, counting with more than 130 pieces, asymbol of Cubaness, contributes to revive its wear.

Museo Provincial de Sancti Spíritus museum
Calle Máximo Gómez No. 3
(in front of the Serafín Sánchez park)
Phone: (041) 327435
From Monday to saturdary: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 m.