For the past week, teachers and students of the Garment Technology Department at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) as well as members of the public have sharpened their skills and learnt how to make the guayabera, Cuba’s tropical classic
garment.
The guayabera, which has become the climate-friendly formal business and everyday attire throughout the Caribbean, is the Cuban cousin to the shirt-jac and the Kariba suit.
Cuban master tailor Heriberto Manuel Hierro Caprio conducted the workshop entitled “The Art of Guayabera Making” as part of the technical cooperation between the Government of Barbados and the Government of the Republic of Cuba in the areas of culture and people-to-people exchange.
On June 17, 2019, during a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Mia Mottley and His Excellency Bruno Rodriguez Parilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, the discussion focused on areas of interest to Barbados and Cuba in the education and health and wellness sectors.
To this end, Prime Minister Mottley has mandated that projects be identified for collaboration in the aforementioned sectors between Barbados and Cuba, that can utilise Cuban expertise and can be mutually beneficial to both countries. A Spanish Language Project at primary and secondary levels has been identified as a priority so that Barbados can become a bilingual society.
Next month, on Dec. 8, Barbados and Cuba will commemorate forty-seven years of the establishment of diplomatic relations.