Guayabera Day- Miami Fashion

Friday, July 01, 2016

Did you know there is a Guayabera Day? Why not, we celebrate Wine Day, Donut Day, Dog day...

Guayabera shirts  Little Havana tours Cuban history

This distinct male fashion shirt is celebrated July 1 in Cuba. Why? This is the birthdate of a famous Cuban poet, known as "El Cucalambe". His real name was Juan Cristobal Napoles Fajardo. An  important figure in Cuban cultural history during the 19th century, Fajardo actually wrote a poem about the guayabera, not only as a local comfortable article of clothing, but more importantly as a symbol for Cuba. Here follows a rough English translation:

Oh, Guayabera!
Shirt of happy buttons,
four pockets, coolness,
of brave cane and breeze.
You went warrior like mambisa
with more than one bloody button
during the heroic uprising,
and for that the flag
is something of a guayabera
that dresses the gallant of the wind.
Espirituana invader,
You began your invasion
and between Júcaro and Morón
they called you La Trochana.
It wanted you Camagüeyana
the noble and brave Camagüey
until the end, since the Cape
      of San Antonio a Maisí,
   Cuba isn’t dressed without you,
            fresh wave of the Yayabo.
Worn throughout several countries such as Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa, the untucked shirts made of linen and its fine pleats is not only functional as cool and comfortable wear in humid climate but are also considered fashionable.  They can be worn as resort wear, for weddings and by political leaders or dignitaries. 

While there are different theories as to whether the guayabera originated in the Philippines, Mexico, Dominican Republic or Cuba, it was Cuba that designated the Guayabera day and in 2010, declared the guayabera to be its "official formal dress garment".

To learn more about the origins of the guayabera and Cuban culture and its influence in Miami and the United States, take the popular Little Havana Cultural Walking tour in Miami, FL. 

guayabera shirt Little Havana tours Cuban history

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