Q: How did you learn to crochet?
R: I began crocheting a very long time ago, since I was about 5 or 7 years old. I started crocheting by watching, and I simply observed. I also started coming to Riohacha to sell the bags my family made. And that's how I started being an artisan. By watching other women sell and crochet.
Q: What is the mask you have on?
R: Wayuu woman use this to cover their faces and to protect them from the sun. It also removes sunspots. This powder comes from a tree that can be found by the edge of the river. You take the fruit from the tree and keep it in a jar and apply it to your face. I don't know the name of this fruit in Spanish but in Wayuunaiki it's called Mashuka.
Q: What changes have you seen since working with us?
R: The change has been for the better because I don't have to look for customers to buy from me and I can work and crochet with one person only. Inside every bag there is a dream for which I am crocheting. Other female artisans crochet to feed their children. As I don't have children, I crochet to get ahead and pay for my studies.
Q: What would you like people to know?
That they value craftsmanship and work of us artisans. Many bargain, forcing us to live in miserable conditions. I don't feel this is fair, that the work of an artisan is poorly paid.
Q: Are you the head of your household?
R: Well in my case, as I'm a single woman and I don't have any attachment or children, I work to sustain myself and my mother.
Q: What does a Wayuu bag represent for you?
R: For me a Wayuu bag represents the dream of each and every woman. The designs represent our culture. Engrained in every bag is our culture. I cannot abandon Wayuu bags because I was born with these bags. I was born crocheting. Since I was little they've always been there. Sometimes I even miss crocheting when I'm working on something else.