IN the Bahamas and Jamaica, we call it the bush jacket. In the Dominican Republic it is commonly known as the chacabana shirt. In Haiti, it is sometimes called guyabel, while in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, it is often called jack-shirt.
But in most of Latin America, especially Cuba and Mexico, where the history and fashion of the shirt largely derives, it is known as the guayabera. While the origin of the name is debated, one story suggests that it derives from the Spanish word, “guayaba” or “guava”.
Distinguished by “two vertical lines of pleating and/or embroidery” on the front and a straight bottom cut, [the guayabera is one of] the most iconic part[s] clothing related to the cultural life of Latin American and Caribbean populations around the world.” The shirt is worn outside the pants.
Guayabera panels run the length of the front and back of the shirt, which is usually made of cotton, linen, or silk. Some shirts have two pleats in the front and one in the back.
Many of the shirts, though not all, have four front pockets. Nowadays, many of the most worn guayaberas are without pockets. There are long and short sleeved shirts, with the latter having cuffs.
Although originally designed for men, there are women’s versions, and even miniature shirts designed for stuffed animals, such as Teddy Bears.
Although the shirt was traditionally white or pastel, they are available in a rainbow of colors, often with elaborate embroidery. In Mexico, black guayaberas decorated with colorful embroidered flowers and French cuffs are popular as formal wear for certain occasions.
In 2019, Cuba reinstated the shirt as its “official garment of official dress”. Guayaberas are formal wear for offices and special occasions in much of Latin and Central America and the Caribbean.
In Belize, which has been described as “the heartbeat of the Caribbean in the heart of Central America,” the guayabera is official office wear, including government offices. It is worn by members of the House of Representatives during sessions and by the prime minister and cabinet ministers on a daily basis, including on state occasions.
Some Belizeans have long-sleeved guayaberas tailored, sometimes with intricate patterns, including Mayan symbolism. Pun intended shirts like these can cost a pretty penny.
In America, shirts are found in mass market stores as well as high-end stores, including in Florida, where a gentleman can have his shirts made by expert Cuban tailors.
Guayabera has gone global, with a more diverse customer base and can be found online and in boutiques and department stores. “Fashion designers are introducing new types and styles of fabrics, as well as imaginative new designs.”
There are many threads to weave to tell the story of the guayabera. Some suggest that the original design derives from the Tagalog white lace-like barong of the Philippines, making its way from that country to the Americas, particularly Acapulco, Mexico and Cuba.
Others dispute this connection, noting the differences in the shirts. Another account is that the shirt was popularized in Cuba, resembling the uniforms worn by Spanish and Cuban soldiers, while “other sources describe its use in the countryside by Cuban landowners and field workers.”
Just as there is a rich social history to the shirt, there is also a more modern history. Mexican and Cuban leaders wore the guayabera as a fashion and political statement, wearing shirts instead of a coat and tie, which they believed were too colonial.
The design and manufacture of shirts provided domestic sources of work, income and industry, uncontrolled by First World corporations and manufacturers. Wearing a guayabera was also more practical in warmer climates.
The guayabera was worn by leaders and activists such as Cesar Chavez, Fidel Castro, Belizean Founding Father George Price and Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley.
“Manley specifically advocated the guayabera as an anti-colonial mode of dress, and conversely, the shirt was later banned in Parliament by the conservative Jamaican Labor Party.”
Although the shirt was a symbol in some leftist quarters, its practice, roots, and cultural resonance led to the widespread distribution of the guayabera throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, with the shirt now worn by people of all political, ethnic, and economic persuasions. and social. circumstances.
Whatever the historical origin, the guayabera made its way to the Yucatan Peninsula. There is a textured and intertwined history between Mexico and Cuba in general, and between Cuba in particular and Merida, the capital of the Yucatan, on the tip of the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula that adjoins the Gulf of Mexico.
Merida, a city of around 900,000 inhabitants, enjoys a rich Mayan and colonial heritage. Today, it is one of the world capitals and leading producers of the ubiquitous guayabera, with a dazzling array of shirts available in markets, department stores and boutique shops.
There is much that Mexicans and Cubans can teach other countries, including the Bahamas, about guayabera design and trade opportunities. Bahamians of a certain generation may remember shirt-wearing becoming widespread in the 1970s.
Bahamians studying in the region, including at the University of the West Indies, returned home wearing bush jackets. The shirt became everyday wear for many priests and religious ministers, as well as Bahamian and West Indian teachers.
Many men who disliked the constraints of a coat and tie welcomed the introduction of the guayabera, which was cooler to wear, less expensive and easy to maintain.
The bush jacket was the signature shirt worn by cultural giants such as composer and cultural director, E Clement Bethel, and the very talented cultural advocate and founder of Jumbey Village, Edmund Moxey.
Dozens of men and boys wore the shirt to church, some offices, and various social and special events. Every Bahamian prime minister and a good number of governors general have worn the shirt on occasion.
Between climate change and a greater focus on the creative economy and economic diversification, guayabera should have a promising and bright future!
Many men around the world wear far fewer ties. The Speaker of the lower house of the Australian Parliament recently ruled that male members should no longer wear a tie with their jacket.
Parliaments set their own rules for appropriate dress for members. It’s time for the Bahamas Parliament to allow male members to wear the appropriate guayabera with long sleeves and cuffs in Parliament. This may lead to more Bahamian men wearing formal and appropriate guayaberas every day in office settings.
It has become extremely funny to see men in 90 degree weather going to work in coats and ties while sweating profusely. More schools may move towards the guayabera as a uniform for boys, ditching the tie year-round rather than just during the warmer months.
Imagine cabinet meetings during which most members and officials now wore guayaberas. Anything to cool the sometimes heated passions of politicians and leaders will be welcomed by most Bahamians.
In addition to the commercial benefits, having guayaberas worn by more men on more occasions could provide Bahamians with a greater sensitivity to our ties to our region. Shirts embroidered with Bahamian designs could be sold to tourists and given as gifts to visiting diplomats and guests.
These guayaberas, with long and short sleeves, can come in an archipelago of earth and sea colors, including colors derived from guinep pulp, the juicy interior of a Bahamian guava or mango, the shell of a cooked lobster , the many shades. the water of our waters, and others from our palette of flora, also tire him.
Further, as the climate continues to warm and energy costs continue to rise, the Government of The Bahamas must transition to a full fleet of electric cars.
Although there are already hybrids and some electric cars in the fleet, the government can reduce its huge gas bill and demonstrate its commitment to reducing carbon emissions by setting targets for moving to an all-electric fleet across the country.
Furthermore, why are we still buying black or darker colored cars for cabinet ministers, permanent secretaries and other senior officials in a tropical Bahamas? In Australia, the Prime Minister’s official car is white.
The fashion we wear and the objects of daily life demonstrate our awareness and sense of time, especially certain signs of time, such as climate change.
In promoting more climate-friendly models and modes of transportation, we can design and offer ourselves a powerful cultural fashion statement for a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future.
