Last Friday, I was with more than twenty Brazilian women visiting the city of Fátima. The group made up of embroiderers from various states in Brazil came to Portugal and France on a route called “The Embroidery Route”. The program was prepared by a tourism agency, together with an embroidery teacher. In this case, my former boss and her daughter. A moment to see loved ones, celebrate Easter and receive the affection so desired by the immigrant from here.
I met women with diverse experiences, but united by their love of embroidery. One of them explained that both of her grandmothers were crocheters and, therefore, she also wanted to develop this manual skill. When she retired, after three decades as a preschool teacher, she found burlap Chilean inspiration. The type of embroidery applied to jute emerged amid the repression of the military dictatorship in Chile. As resistance, women embroidered in neighborhood workshops, prisons and detention centers to express feelings, demands and denunciations.
Another member, a History and Geography teacher at a public school, said that after retiring, she took her watch off her wrist and decided that, from then on, she would pursue life at her own pace and desire. He began to embroider his life on fabric, travels and long encounters with literature. He revealed that he had already had the opportunity to correspond with Rubem Alves, praising the writer for his contribution in the field of Education and for his unique use of words.
In conversation with the group, the teacher commented on embroidery as a language that crosses generations. “Each country has its particularities, different designs, stitches, types of lines. It’s a cultural richness that tells many stories.” She also commented on how the trip was prepared to promote experiences and contact with traditions. Embroidery as an intertwining of wisdom and legacies.
One of the travelers, as a specialist in Castelo Branco Embroidery, promoted a workshop for women. Among Portuguese embroideries, that of Castelo Branco uses silk threads and specific imagery with birds, the tree of life, carnations, lilies, pomegranates and hearts. The themes have already influenced architecture, fashion, stamps, furniture and even the making of coins. And he continues to weave stories between Portuguese and Brazilian.
While life is being embroidered, point by point, the trip to Fátima strengthened the spirit of gratitude, awakened memories and brought a new perspective to those who already knew the place. Some burned candles, others performed penance on their knees and we, in the group, delivered letters to Our Lady, in a communication that transcends borders.
Being in these places that bring together spirituality, each in its own way, reminds us that life is here and now. It is necessary to keep in mind this notion of finiteness and size to reinforce the foot in reality. We integrate the whole and we are also just a part.
In Aljustrel, the village where the three shepherd children lived, we met Jacinta and Francisco’s niece, also named Jacinta in honor of her aunt. The 83-year-old woman posed for photos, received hugs and compliments from the embroiderers. He responded to the group in a calm manner in contrast to the Brazilian euphoria. He said that each person has their own story and that the perfumed rosaries sold there were authentic. “We die and the perfume remains.”
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