CAMAGÜEY.- For thinking about the person and not about the stereotype, the artisan Isabel Cristina Curbelo Ferrán won the palms at the 500+ Handicrafts and Gifts Fair, in this city, with the project Vestir la edad, for women over 50 years of age .

She brought a sample of dresses and accessories presented at the EXUBERARTE 2022 event, based in Villa Clara, the province where this Camagüey's artist has lived for 45 years.

“I use canvas, cotton, linen, fresh and appropriate fabric for our climate. I apply the crafts with the unraveling, the Tenerife lace, the tucks, the ends. They like it a lot because they feel current and beautiful, ”she explained.

Founder of the 500+ fair, of the affiliate of the Cuban Fund for Cultural Assets (FCBC), she presented the pieces on a catwalk with models from her Santa Clara's group and enthusiastic Camagüey's women with whom she extends the project.

"It was the age group that couldn't find clothes because they are generally overweight women, with certain traces of time on their faces, so I thought I would find suitable designs for them," she told the press.

Marketed through the FCBC. In addition, in Santa Clara it has the Bazar Isabel Cristina sales space at the headquarters of the Cuban Association of Artisans-Artists, on Santa Clara boulevard.

“The project arose when many of these girls were going through moments typical of their age: if we already see gray hair, that the pressure of the house... they no longer had the desire to get ready. Wearing age raised their self-esteem and today they defend it tooth and nail, ”she said.

Isabel Cristina was a veterinarian, but an illness cut short her professional work. Her world lost its senses until rediscovering itself without limits with crafts, to the point of saving herself and making many people happy.

“I have a lot of fun making the accessories. I always look for something new. Spiritually it has filled me a lot. In the networks we give advice on dressing so that the woman always has elegance, style and Cubanness ”, she concluded.

The 500+ Crafts and Gifts Fair will run until February 12 at the Fairgrounds, with the offer of artisans, self-employed workers and MSMEs from Havana, Artemisa, Cienfuegos, Villa Clara, Ciego de Ávila, Las Tunas, Holguín and Camagüey.

Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez