Mérida, Yucatán — Since appearing at Semana de Yucatán trade show in Mexico City last May, the region’s iconic guayabera shirts have taken off as an export product.
South American and European markets, particularly Spain, have been the first to sign purchase orders with garment-makers, said the president of the National Chamber of the Garment Industry in Yucatan (Canaive), Pedro Gongora Medina.
The first exports will ship at the end of the year, according to news service Notimex.
Businessmen already in trade with Morelos, Veracruz and Puebla have also branched out to Guatemala and Puerto Rico, an important customer, Gongora Medina said.
Already, Yucatán is shipping 600,000 iconic shirts to six countries, including the United States, the Dominican Republic and even Cuba — where the shirt supposedly originated. Mexico claims the shirt was first worn in Yucatán and copied by the Cubans.
The Chamber is promoting the product under a program that roughly translates to “This is the guayabera, this is Yucatan.” Thirty manufacturers are affiliated with the promotion.
The comfortable, straight-hemmed shirt, designed to be worn untucked, is a symbol of Latin American culture. It is sometimes called the “Mexican Wedding Shirt” because it’s suitable for formal ceremonies in weather.
