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Image / Woman working on the field, La Chamba, Colombia, 1975

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Title
Woman working on the field, La Chamba, Colombia, 1975
Creator
Cross, Richard, 1950-1983
Date Created and/or Issued
1975-03
Publication Information
California State University, Northridge
Contributing Institution
California State University, Northridge
Collection
Richard Cross Photographs (Bradley Center)
Rights Information
Use of images from the collections of the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center is strictly prohibited by law without prior written consent from the copyright holders. The responsibility for the use of these materials rests exclusively with the user.
The Bradley Center may assist in obtaining copyright/licensing permission to use images from the Richard Cross collection. http://www.csun.edu/bradley-center/contact
Description
A woman uses a digging bar to extract clay from a clay pit in La Chamba. Next to her is a bag and three bowls full of clay. In the background there are scattered trees, bushes and a large mountain under a cloudy sky. La Chamba is a path located in the Colombian municipality of Guamo, in the Department of Tolima, in the center-west part of the country. Known popularly as the “artisanal capital of Colombia,” Guamo is also an important center for livestock raising and agriculture where many fruits and other foods are produced for the national market. It is also work that is assigned to men. However, far beyond the importance of these industries, La Chamba stands out as an important center for the production of clay goods, an activity that is performed by women, and has received both national and international praise for its originality and mode of artistic and cultural expression, which is the legacy of a tradition and crafting techniques that date back to pre-Hispanic times. Before the Spanish conquest and ensuing colonization, the area that makes up this city was occupied by the Pijao Indigenous Peoples, a loose confederation of Indigenous groups whose descendants continue to live in the area. The first appearance of Guamo in the historical record was in 1562, when the area was named Guarró Bocanegra by Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar. However, on June 26, 1772, the area was formally founded as Guamo on land donated by Don Antonio Álvarez, a wealthy Spaniard who received the land from the Spanish crown by way of a royal decree, an act that was followed by the construction of its own church by presbyter Juan Antonio Buenaventura de Portela, which he named Santa Ana del Guamo. With the passage of time and the changes that it entails, the production of clay goods continued to be for utilitarian and commercial use and though it lost certain Indigenous characteristics, it was transformed into something new with the development of new techniques and traditions along the way. At the beginning of the twentieth-century, La Chamba’s clays still carried traits from its Indigenous past and continued to develop to the extent that it received national recognition in 1937. In November 1972, its importance and cultural and historical value encouraged the government of Tolima Department to establish the Technical Education Institute-La Chamba, which serves since then and offers children and adolescents specialized education that emphasizes crafting and trains local youth to become future entrepreneurs. It also hopes to create a sustainable mode of production that is supported by community growth and development. In 1983, the Institute was assigned as a satellite of Sor Josefa del Castillo School and was expanded to include other grades as the years went on as well as other satellites in Centro Chipuelo, La Luisa, and La Isla. La Chamba, its artisans and its clay crafts are considered a national treasure for their cultural, social, historical, and economic value and for their devotion to their craft, which is much more than a simple job, but a mode of expression and their heritage. Richard Cross took this image during his work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia from 1975-1978. He was assigned to work for the then Colombian Institute of Culture (now the Ministry of Culture) and his task was to create a visual record of La Chamba’s artisans, their work, and their culture.
Una mujer usa una barra de excavación para exctraer barro de un pozo de barro de La Chamba. Junto a ella se observa una bolsa y tres tazones llenos de barro. En el fondo de la imagen se observan árboles dispersados, arbustos y una cordillera extensa debajo de un cielo nublado. La Chamba es una vereda localizada en el municipio colombiano de Guamo, en el departamento de Tolima, en el centro-oeste del país. Conocida popularmente como la “capital artesanal de Colombia”, Guamo también es centro importante de ganadería y agricultura donde se producen muchas frutas y otros comestibles para el mercado nacional. Es también trabajo que hacen los hombres del área. Sin embargo, más allá de estas industrias destaca la vereda de La Chamba como centro para la producción de barro, un trabajo que hacen las mujeres, reconocida a nivel nacional e internacional por su originalidad y modo de expresión cultural y artística, herencia de una tradición y técnicas de alfarería que existen desde tiempos prehispánicos. Antes de la conquista y colonización española, el área que conforma esta entidad fue ocupada por los Pijao, un conjunto de pueblos indígenas cuyos descendientes aún habitan el área. La primera instancia de Guamo se dió acabo en 1562 al haber sido fundada como Guarró Bocanegra por el conquistador español Sebastián de Belalcázar. Sin embargo, el 26 de junio de 1772 esa área fue fundada formalmente como Guamo sobre un terreno entregado al español Don Antonio Álvarez por Cédula Real, acto que fue acompañado por la construcción de la parroquia de Santa Ana del Guamo por el presbítero Juan Antonio Buenaventura de la Portela. Con los años y los cambios que conlleva el paso del tiempo, la elaboración de barros continuó siendo con fines utilitarios y comerciales y aunque perdió ciertos elementos indígenas, se transformó en algo nuevo con el desarrollo de nuevas técnicas y tradiciones en el camino. A comienzos del siglo XX, la barro de La Chamba aún cargaba rasgos de su pasado indígena y fue desarrollada hasta tal punto que recibió reconocimiento nacional en 1937. Dada la importancia y valor cultural e histórico de la barro de la entidad, en noviembre de 1972 el gobierno de Tolima estableció la Institución Educativa Técnica La Chamba, que funge desde entonces para ofrecer a niños y jóvenes una educación especializada en producción artesanal que enfatiza la formación de futuros empresarios con el fin de crear un proceso productivo sostenible soportado en el crecimiento de la comunidad. En 1983, la Institución fue asignada como satélite del Colegio Sor Josefa del Castillo y con el paso de los años se le integraron otros niveles escolares y satélites en Centro Chipuelo, La Luisa y La Isla. La Chamba, sus artesanos y sus barros son considerados un tesoro nacional por su valor cultural, social, histórico y económico y por su devoción a su arte, pues más de un simple oficio, es una herencia y forma de expresión. Richard Cross tomó esta imagen durante su estancia en Colombia como voluntario del programa estadounidense Peace Corps de 1975-1978. Él fue asignado a trabajar para el entonces Instituto Colombiano de Cultura (ahora el Ministerio de Cultura) y su asignación fue crear una documentación visual de los artesanos de La Chamba, su trabajo y su cultura.
Type
image
Format
Photographs
image/jpeg
black-and-white negatives
Extent
35 mm
Identifier
99.01.RCr.N35.B17.09.53.36
http://digital-collections.csun.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p17169coll1/id/8706
Subject
Pottery craft
Women artisans
Clay industries
Clay
Excavation
Place
La Chamba (Colombia)
Relation
99.01.RCr.N35.B17.09.53.36.tif
Richard Cross Photographs
California State University Northridge. University Library. Special Collections & Archives. Tom & Ethel Bradley Center

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