Lacemaking in the Rio Olympics closing ceremony

Today we have a guest post from Regina Yatiyo Otake Mattosinho who lives in Brazil. She’s going to tell us a little about the lacemaking that was featured in yesterday’s Rio Olympics closing ceremony. If you’re like me, you were more than a little surprised that lacemaking was featured in the ceremony, but I was so happy that a textile art was given the world stage!

Links to images from the ceremony, in case you missed it:
From the Sydney Morning Herald
From Team USA media
From the Sydney Morning Herald

Over to Regina who provided this information to me on Facebook. She kindly consented to me sharing it with you.

I don’t know much very well, the origin and the history behind this lace. The pattern [shown at the ceremony] is a bobbin lace. In Brazil we call it as “Renda de Bilro”. (*It’s better search the Wikipedia for the Portuguese pronuncation of it.) The Portuguese brought it when they came to colonize Brazil.

“The bobbin lace is made on a cushion with horsehair stuffing, sawdust or cotton; such cushion is generally coated fabric whose colors do not harm the view. The pad can be stuck on a wooden support, but there are tenants who simply support a chair or stool. The cushion is the basis on which to perform the lace and it attaches the card to the scheme over which will braiding bobbins , ‘ as they are concerned the bars with pins. The bobbins are a kind of wooden rod provided with a small head at one end. About it winds up the line to make income . The bobbins are always used in pairs.” Original link in Portuguese.

The pins used are thorns that every northeast house had on the backyard. It is a typical cactus in some regions of Brazil. As it is an organic material, it doesn’t oxidize.

Depending on the size of the work could take from 6 hours to 3 months to be finished.

The music that was sang during this presentation, is a Brazilian folklore song. Legends say that it was composed by an outlaw, known as Lampião. In the lates 19th and begining of 20th centuries. The chorus says something like “Lacewoman please, teach me how to make lace then I will teach you how to flirt.” It is registered on a movie “O Cangaceiro” from Lima Barreto. Lampião was a kind of Brazilian Robin Wood.

Here we have many others kind of lace that still being produced. They were brought by the European since the begining of Brazil as a colony. You can see some of them it this link that is in Portuguese.

I hope this help you to know a tiny little bit about Brazilian culture. That is very complex, because is formed by many origins and influences. Not only from the Brazilian Indian (that was also shown during both of the Olympic ceremonies) culture but also from many other countries. Including me, that I’m a Japanese imigrants’ grandaughter, married to a Portuguese descendant.

Thanks so much to Regina for sharing some of your culture with us. We really appreciate it.