An Arpillerista is a woman who creates embroidered textile pieces from fabric scraps and various materials. Arpillera, a technique recognised in Chile as Intangible Cultural Heritage due to the knowledge and skills associated with it, emerged during the times of the Chilean dictatorship as a way to generate income and express what was happening in the country.

Hilda Mardones is 48 years old and has been an arpillerista for 16 years. Gladys Hernández is 63 years old and has been an arpillerista for 40 years. Both practiced the craft through the Solidaridad Foundation, a non-governmental organisation formed by the Vicaría de la Solidaridad of the Catholic Church in Chile, which supported women who began developing this technique during the 1970s and 1980s.

Currently, Hilda and Gladys are part of the Community of Arpilleristas of the Metropolitan Region, which has 10 members. Among them are Aida Moreno, Juany Olave, Elizabeth Chaparro, María Teresa Madariaga, Patricia Hidalgo, Gloria Gallardo, Rosario Muñoz, and Sara Henríquez.

"They used the arpillera as a newspaper to tell the story and the things that were happening in those years. What motivated me most to become an arpillerista is 'telling the story': how to depict a story, how to work with the fabrics. I think that's the most beautiful thing about arpillera, telling a story," explains Hilda.

Hilda used to make paper crafts at the Solidaridad Foundation, which, until the 2000s, was dedicated to promoting handicrafts. At the foundation, she came into contact with the arpilleristas. After meeting Gladys, she started working on large arpillera pieces and accessories, becoming an integral part of the Community of Arpilleristas of the Metropolitan Region.

Gladys, on the other hand, joined the group after helping her mother with the embroidery as a child in the 1980s, a time when there was a great demand for arpilleras. "We lived between two very emblematic neighbourhoods, La Victoria and José María Caro," recalls Gladys.

The women of the neighbourhood where Gladys and her mother lived began to gather in a nearby parish after the 1973 coup in Chile. They created arpillera out of necessity: the Vicaría de la Solidaridad helped them sell the arpilleras as handicrafts to generate income.

"It was because of hunger, the need to support their children, as many women were left alone in those years. When the group started with the first women in the church, the aim was to get together and work collectively, just embroider," adds Hilda.

One of those women changed everything, according to Hilda: "She depicted when her husband was taken away in the bus, when they took her family away. When they saw the work, which was so beautiful, they started telling stories and saw arpillera as a form of expression and not just sustenance."

In the '80s, for example, they used "the children's old school trousers, which were grey, and their old school shirts, which were light blue," says Gladys, who confirms they still work with used clothing.

"Over time, the themes have changed, the complaints have changed, but always, until today, we make the traditional arpillera, because that's the one that was recognised as heritage. Nowadays, arpilleras are made on more current topics, such as feminism, communal kitchens during the pandemic, and environmental issues," emphasises Gladys.

How did the arpilleras contribute to freedom of expression?

Gladys: I think that in those years when freedom of expression was so restricted, the arpillera was a way for the arpillerista to emerge. It was like an underground movement, hidden, reaching the world like a fabric newspaper, telling the story of what was happening in Chile, because it was impossible to tell what was happening here in the country itself.

Why do you think it's important to preserve arpillería for future generations?

Hilda: For memory, the way of depicting stories. To this day, arpillera is a way to denounce, to tell. Over the years, it has become a craft that must be recognised in Chile as a craft in its own right, but it is not an ordinary craft. There may be thousands of embroideries, but embroidering history, embroidering with fabrics and maintaining that knowledge so it endures is different and essential.

What difficulties do arpilleristas face today?

Gladys: It's difficult to sell the arpilleras; Chileans don't value the work we do very much, for example, because it is made from fabric scraps.

Hilda: There is a fear that fewer and fewer women are making arpilleras. There is a lot of haste, the immediacy of people is a difficulty, there is no patience to work.

How could the country support arpillería so that it does not disappear?

Gladys: I believe that holding workshops is very important. We conduct workshops. We have held workshops for children and adults so that arpillería can continue over time. This is how we are contributing. Another important factor is that we can exhibit our work, always through the government.

Hilda: I think arpillería should be taught in schools as part of the education. Teach the children that arpillera is part of a craft and part of Chile's history, that it appears in books. I believe one way they could help us is by taking us to other places to hold workshops, not just nationally but also to other countries, to promote arpillería.