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Las Piedras.- Daniela Francis Blanco Lamas utilizes art as a tool to educate about the Afro-descendant contributions in the Caribbean and Latin America to reconnect with the shared roots that bind us as communities.

Originally from Jalapa Barras de Veracruz, Mexico, the fabric doll artisan behind Taller Amalia Muñecas has been residing in Las Piedras for the past 20 years and finds inspiration in the need to raise awareness beyond stereotypes, enabling clients to feel identified and acknowledge their ancestral history.

“Here on the island, I strongly identify with Afro-descendants, and it’s very important to me to create art that represents us. I want to sensitize people so that we respect each other and identify with the artwork. I love it when girls especially look at it and say, ‘Look, she has the same hair as me.’ That’s an achievement because if she finds the doll beautiful, she’ll feel beautiful and valuable too,” said the artisan, whose creations measure around 15 inches.

“I really like the jibaritas and bomba dancers because it reminds me when my daughter was 3 years old and she came to the island with me; the first thing she did was dance bomba. I loved it, and I always address the topic of what Puerto Rico means to me, which is love, the land of my 3 children, and the place where I have matured and put down roots,” she proudly expressed.

From a young age, Blanco Lamas was deeply involved in the arts because her grandmother, Amalia—the inspiration for her workshop’s name—and her mother, Guadalupe, taught her knitting, embroidering, and various textile crafts. Once she arrived in the island in 2004, she purchased a sewing machine and focused on crafting dolls.

“I started with a doll for my eldest daughter, and from that point on, I knew that I enjoyed being an artisan and that I wanted to make dolls. So when I arrived in Puerto Rico in 2004, I found a poster for the Crafts and Plastic Arts Fair on the street, just lying on the ground, and I saw it, and I fell in love with it. I took it home, and I still have it with me.” That led me to think that my future was in crafting and that the island was the perfect place for it,” she expressed.

It was her creativity and constant practice that led the artisan to refine her talent until achieving the quality and beauty of the pieces she produces today, which are indeed unique because each creation has exclusive features.

“I believe that an artisan’s evolution never stops. We adapt to feedback and refine our craft by adding, subtracting, and enhancing our products,” she maintained.

In addition to dolls, the artist crafts various figures that honor Puerto Rico’s symbols and patriotic elements.

“My entire body of work carries symbolism, and the coquí is a powerful metaphor. It reminds me of the spirit of the Puerto Rican people who, despite the hardships they experience, remain resilient and cheerful. It’s a tiny frog with a loud chirp and it reminds me of the Puerto Rican attitude, which remains constant despite the situations that affect them,” explained the 43-year-old artist.

As for future plans, Blanco Lamas highlighted her intention to provide fabric doll-making courses as a means of preserving the art form.

“I receive a lot of questions about this, and I’m considering offering workshops on fabric doll construction. During my time as a volunteer at the Yabucoa Agriculture Reserve, I met many women deeply interested in artisanal crafts. In fact, I started offering craft workshops in Yabucoa. From that moment on, I said to myself: ‘I want to do this,’ and I was inspired to continue making dolls and to turn this into a craft project infused with everything that Puerto Rico means to me,” she concluded.

For more information, find her on social media at: Facebook (Amalia Muñecas Artesanales) and Instagram (Amalia._dolls). You can also contact her by phone at 787-685-5075.