Weaving chairs in royal palm is an art that is not studied in any educational center, since it always goes hand in hand with oral tradition. Many mistakenly say guano to the royal palm, but with the guano the broom and the macutos are worked among other utensils.
In addition to this natural fiber, there are also others such as cane, guano and cabuya that are part of our Dominican environment and that are used in basketry, which is part of the crafts, with which natural or vegetable fiber is worked. to make utilitarian objects of everyday life such as bags, hats, arganas, and so on.
Crafts are a line of folklore or traditional culture and must have identity elements of the country that exhibits it. and not be produced in series to be industrialized. Before, the “empajilladores” went out on the streets proclaiming their service, but nowadays there are few who do this work and those who do it are in a fixed place, like Soriano Núñez, alias Domingo, native of La Estancia de Hato Viejo de Yamasá that, although he continues the legacy of a pasting machine that his father left him 42 years ago, youHe has a permanent job in Villa Mella as a watchman in a blacksmith company. “My children are not interested in this job, although I have always told them that they could also make a living from this since it leaves their chelitos, even if it is little. The youth don’t like to fight, “says Domingo, while maneuvering with the fiber roll. “The governments have not given almost value to the culture here, they have let this end. Before, what used to exist was chairs and furniture made of natural fibers and the straw or grid that is imported,” says Domingo, referring to the identity craft work that performs with a lot of dedication.
Employee
This craftsman travels early every day, from Villa Mella to Villa Consuelo, to meet the commitments of many clients who want to embellish the seat backs with different fabrics in royal palm, which was what was used in the dining room chairs and in which they “rested”, just as their owners did in the “enramá” of the fields, after lunch, which have been replaced by stackable plastic.
Source-listindiario.com