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Crocheting un parte de mi corazón

An homage to my Mama Angie

My Mama Angie was an excellent crocheter. She passed away recently. I’m sad and grieving in my own way, but this has given me time to reflect on some of my favorite memories of her. The first ones that came to mind were coming to her house and getting showered in amazing handmade crochet items. She was talented! One time she sent us home with bags made of plarn. I was so inspired by her talent and I am still inspired by her today.

The most whimsical of her gifts were the crochet shawls. A hug you can wear, these shawls were cherished by my younger self for years. They probably influenced my grandma like tendencies more than I realize. I decided as an homage to my Mama Angie I would crochet a shawl myself- or at least a shawl for my head. I found this beautiful butterfly bandana tutorial along with yarn I thought would work perfectly for this project.

El projecto

To process her passing, fue imporante para mi to take my memories of Mama Angie, and carry them on in a way that I can represent. Making a bandana, in a similar fashion to her shawls, is how I can remember her creativity, her joy, and her love. Just crocheting on my back porch, enjoying the garden, and talking a long walk after, made me feel closer to her.

La cultura

Heritage is a hard thing to connect to on if you don’t have memories to build upon. Thankfully, I do have memories with Mama Angie and because of that she will always be a part of me. My recipes are my mom’s recipes and they were her recipes too. I studied Spanish to be able to talk with her and I was lucky to be able to do that before she passed. My name is her name. I’m excited to carry on the parts of my heritage that made it down to me and my generation even if it’s hard.

I have been making it more of a priority to spotlight and share my heritage. One way I do this is by making it visible. I’ve decorated my office with “Gen Z” papel picado and posters with Spanish phrases. I use Spanish where I can. And these efforts are not going unnoticed. Members of the community tell me that they appreciate me sharing the culture and making it relevant to every space I am in.

Gen Z Papel Picado

La cultura es parte de mi sangre y por eso, Mama Angie siempre sería un parte de mi corazón.