Closeup of a pocket on a guayabera, showing the button and alignedalforzas
The design of a typical guayabera is distinguished by several details:
Either two or four patch pockets and two vertical rows ofalforzas (fine, tiny pleats, usually 10, sewn closely together) run down the front and three down the back of the shirt. The pockets are detailed withalforzas that are identical to, and aligned with, thealforzas on the body of the shirt.[1]
Long or short sleeves, the more common being the short-sleeved version, having a cuffed sleeve with a single decorative button.
Some shirt designs include slits on either side, and these include two or three buttons. The bottom has a straight hem and is never tucked into the trousers.[2]
The top of each pocket is usually adorned with a matching shirt button, as are the bottoms of thealforza pleats. Vertical rows of adjusting buttons are often used at the bottom hem. While most versions of the design have no placket covering the buttons, a few newer designs do.
Though traditionally worn in white and pastels, guayaberas are now available in many solid colors.
Mexican guayaberas often use complicatedembroidery as a supplement to the traditionalalforzas. This style originated inMérida, Mexico.[2]
The exact origin of the garment is unknown, although some historians attribute the shirt to the people of the Philippines who introduced the design to Mexico via theManila-Acapulco galleon trade, from there spreading to Cuba and the rest of the Caribbean. Specifically, the design is believed to be from the Philippinebarong tagalog, which has documented origins in the Philippines prior to the arrival of the Spanish.[3][4][5][6]
Men wearing whitefilipina shirts in the traditionaljarana Yucateca dance ofYucatán, Mexico
Some scholars dispute the Philippine origin based on perceived design differences. The barong traditionally does not have pockets and has an intricate U-shaped embroidery around the chest (thepechera) which is mostly absent in Cuban guayaberas.[7] Guayaberas are also invariably made from opaque linen or cotton, unlike the barong tagalog which has two variations: cheaper variants made from common opaque fabrics (like linen) for commoners and everyday wear, and expensive embroideredpiña orabacá sheer fabrics worn by theupper classes.[8][9]
However, guayaberas in Mexico also have chest designs like pleats and embroidery similar to the barong (and in contrast to Cuban guayaberas); they can range from having no pockets to having one, two, or four. This is the reason why Mexicans also claim that it originated from either the state ofVeracruz or theYucatán Peninsula.[4] In Mexico, the same basic style is also known as the "camisa deYucatán" (Yucatán shirt)[10] or "wedding shirt".[2]
Regardless, a clearer line of evidence is that guayaberas are actually also referred to as "filipinas" inYucatán, Mexico, with the former regarded as a variant of the latter. The only difference between the two is the type of collar used. Filipinas have a collar similar to theNehru or mandarin-style (a style known as thebaro cerrada in the 19th-century Philippines), while guayaberas have a more typicalspread collar. Both filipinas and the derivative guayaberas were the traditional everyday men's shirts in Yucatán since the mid-19th century, before they were replaced by western shirts in the early 20th century. The white filipina shirt is still regarded as the traditional formal dress for men in Yucatán, along with theterno for women (cf.traje de Mestiza of thePhilippines). In particular, white filipinas are the traditional shirts worn for thejarana Yucateca dance, paired with white trousers. This suggests an origin from the Philippines that entered Mexico early during the colonial period through Yucatán then to Cuba, where it was later adapted to local fashion and materials.[11][12][13][14][8][15]
Cubans also claim the guayabera originated from Cuba, although records of the guayabera appear much later in Cuba. Cuban literature first refers to the shirt from 1893,[16] and documentary evidence first mentions the shirt in Cuba in 1880.[2] The Cuban origin story tells of a poor countrysideseamstress sewing large patch-pockets onto her husband's shirts for carryingguava (guayabas) from the field.[4][2] In another version of the story, in 1709 Spanish immigrants from Granada, José Pérez Rodríguez and his wife Encarnación Núñez García arrived in Sancti Spiritus, located along the Yayabo River. José asked his wife to make him a shirt with long sleeves and four large pockets to store his cigars and belongings while he worked. Because it was easy to make, as well as being useful, it soon became a popular garment in that region. Another belief is that the name guayabera is said to have originated from the wordyayabero, the nickname for those who lived near the Yayabo River inCuba.[4][17][18]
The guayabera is often worn in formal contexts, such as offices and weddings. In Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, guayaberas are part of the traditional wear for men and may be considered formalwear.[19][17][20] In 2010, Cuba reinstated the guayabera as the "official formal dress garment".[21]
Taiwanese PresidentTsai in guayabera gifted by Panama's first lady
Guayaberas have been worn extensively by a number of Latin American political leaders, includingAndrés Manuel López Obrador,Cesar Chavez,Carlos Prío Socarrás, andFidel Castro.[18] This is often interpreted as a sign of the wearer's affiliation with populist political positions.[19]Michael Manley, populist Jamaican prime minister, specifically advocated for the guayabera as an anti-colonialist mode of dress,[22] and conversely the shirt was later banned in Parliament by the conservative Jamaica Labour Party.[23] Similarly, Mexican left-wing populistLuis Echeverría advocated for its use in Mexico in part to symbolize rejection of European and American-style businesssuits.[10][2]
U.S. presidents, includingRonald Reagan,George H. W. Bush, andBarack Obama, have worn the shirts as a sign of solidarity when visiting the Cuban community in Miami[24] and when attending Latin American summits.[18] Visiting politicians are sometimes given the shirts by Cuban American or Latin American political leaders.[25][26]
A variety of similar, lightweight dress shirts exists in other tropical countries. These include:
In the United States of America: theWestern shirts with pointed yokes and elaborate embroidery were directly copied from the guayaberas of 19th century Mexicanvaqueros.[27][28]
InGuyana: a similar or identical shirt is called a "shirt-jac".[29][30]
InJamaica: the guayabera is called a "bush jacket".[22]
In theDominican Republic: guayaberas are referred to as "chacabana".[31][32] They are worn for both formal and casual occasions. In tropical countries like the Dominican Republic, chacabanas are used for black tie events such as weddings, business meetings and even political events.[7]
In thePhilippines: thebarong Tagalog shirt has some features which are similar to the guayabera: it is long-sleeved, light, traditionally white, and worn without being tucked in. However, the most traditional styles are decorated with U-shaped embroidery (called thepechera), rather than the guayabera's straight pleats, and lack pockets.[33] It is also traditionally made of hand-woven, fine, translucentpiña orjusi fiber, rather than linen.[3]
InTrinidad and Tobago, physicians often wear them because of their practicality; one pocket for pens, one for a prescription pad, another for a stethoscope, etc.
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