Episodio 81: Life in Miami - Fashion

Duolingo English for Spanish Speakers Podcast

Era el fin de la década de los ochentas, cuando Joseph Jenovese paseaba por su barrio con su madre y su abuelo.

Estaban en North Miami Beach.

A su alrededor, Joseph veía gente vestida con la guayabera.

Se trataba de una camisa de lino con cuello, casi siempre blanca o beige, y con cuatro bolsillos.

Joseph las conocía bien porque su abuelo las usaba siempre.

When my grandfather went out, he loved wearing his white guayabera.

On the streets of Miami, it was common to see lots of people wearing them.

The shirt was very popular.

It’s wide, has buttons on the front, and classic pockets: two on the top and two near the bottom.

Many of the shirts are made of linen, which is a light material, so it’s perfect for the hot weather in Miami.

Desde que era pequeño, Joseph se dio cuenta que cuando llevaba una guayabera se sentía especial y, sobre todo, conectado con su herencia cubanoamericana.

Aunque se debate mucho el origen de la guayabera, está claro que en los siglos XVIII y XIX era muy popular en Cuba.

Tras la llegada de Fidel Castro al poder en 1959, muchos cubanos migraron a lugares como Miami.

There are lots of Cubans in Miami, and the guayabera is a big part of Cuban culture.

When I wore one, I always felt like a superhero because it made me feel so confident.

But I had no idea that later in my life, the guayabera was going to be more than just a part of my culture.

I was going to give it a new place in Miami fashion.

Welcome, les damos la bienvenida a “Relatos en inglés”, un podcast de Duolingo.

Soy Diana Gameros.

En cada episodio podrás practicar inglés a tu propio ritmo, escuchando historias reales y fascinantes contadas por las personas que las vivieron.

En esta temporada especial del podcast, vamos a Miami, en el estado de Florida donde aprenderemos por qué este lugar es tan especial para sus habitantes.

En el capítulo de hoy veremos cómo dos personas muy diferentes entre sí, combinaron sus pasiones personales en la moda de Miami.

Cuando era niño, el padre de Joseph no estaba muy presente, así que pasaba mucho tiempo con su madre, Yvonne.

Ella era una apasionada por la moda y los fines de semana pasaban horas mirando las vitrinas del centro comercial de Bal Harbour.

La elegante zona del extremo norte de Miami Beach es conocida por sus boutiques, restaurantes y hoteles de lujo.

I always knew when we were going to Bal Harbor because we had to drive over a bridge to get there.

At that time, in the 1980s, Bal Harbour had a lot of luxury stores.

And everything in those stores seemed special.

Since we didn’t have money to buy anything there, my mom and I just walked around and looked in the windows.

It was our tradition.

Al igual que su madre, Joseph se enamoró de la moda.

Los coloridos estampados y las telas lujosas que veía en las vitrinas de las boutiques cautivaban su imaginación y lo inspiraban.

En su casa, experimentaba con su propia ropa.

Por ejemplo, cosía retazos de tela en otras prendas, creando conjuntos únicos que nadie más tendría.

When I was in school, I liked to cut holes in my clothes.

Then, I sewed a different material over the hole.

I loved creating interesting new pieces of clothing that were different from everything else.

I liked the feeling that I was the only person wearing the clothes I created.

A Joseph le fascinaban las tendencias que veía en las tiendas de Bal Harbour, pero en su barrio veía un tipo de ropa totalmente diferente.

Allí, la guayabera era una prenda básica entre la comunidad cubana.

Where I lived, the guayabera was almost like the Cuban uniform.

This is because they are a big part of Latino culture.

When you wear one, it says, “I am Latino.

I am Cuban.

This is our culture.” I love being Cuban, so I love wearing guayaberas.

But usually, in Miami, you can only find the shirt in light colors like white, and I preferred to wear brighter colors.

A pesar de que la camisa no le quedaba perfecta, Joseph usó guayaberas durante su infancia porque significaban algo especial para él y su familia.

Pero años más tarde, todo cambió cuando falleció su madre.

When my mother died, I was so sad.

Then, a few months later, my grandfather died, too.

They were my only family, except for my wife.

And suddenly, I felt so alone.

Afligido y en busca de paz, Joseph planeó un viaje a México, donde solía pasar las vacaciones con su madre.

Quería honrar su memoria y volver a visitar los lugares que disfrutaron juntos.

When I was growing up, I went to Mexico with my mother every year, and she usually bought guayaberas there.

Many Cubans went to Mexico when Fidel Castro became the leader of Cuba in 1959.

After they arrived, a lot of factories started making guayaberas in the Yucatan peninsula.

So, when I visited, we had a lot of choices when we shopped.

Every trip my mom always bought me special guayaberas to remember our vacation together.

It was another one of our traditions.

Pero cuando Joseph llegó a México, todo parecía diferente.

Era la primera vez que viajaba sin su madre.

Eligió este significativo lugar para esparcir las cenizas de su madre, o spread his mother’s ashes.

When I got there, I found a little river close to where my mom and I used to stay.

And that’s where I decided to spread my mother’s ashes.

I felt sad, and I wanted to feel connected to my mother again.

And that’s when I had an idea!

Fue en ese momento, que Joseph decidió crear su propio estilo de guayaberas.

Esperaba mantener viva una pequeña parte de la tradición con su madre y, al mismo tiempo, honrar sus raíces.

Pero había algo que tenía muy claro: no quería hacer guayaberas tradicionales.

Quería que sus diseños se destacaran con elementos modernos como el bordado, o embroidery.

I wanted to make something new and different, so I designed guayaberas that looked more modern.

And I also wanted the shirts to have modern embroidery, with images like stars, the moon, or a baseball logo.

Joseph se sumergió en el mundo de muestras de tela y estampados, eligiendo una tela de poliéster, o polyester fabric.

Después de unos años de preparación, en 2013, lanzó “Y.A.Bera Clothing”.

El nombre de su negocio jugaba con la pronunciación cubana de la camisa, y rendía un homenaje a su familia.

Eligió la “Y” del nombre de su madre Yvonne y la primera parte del nombre de su abuelo “BER-nardo”.

Si uno lee el nombre casi se forma la palabra “guayabera”.

I am so proud of my family, so the name is a perfect way to celebrate them.

The shirts still had four pockets, two near the top and two near the bottom, but I added a collar that you can close.

When I was ready to sell the shirts, I used a lot of the things I learned in business school.

It was the first time that I had my own business, and when I opened the online store, I was so confident.

I thought I was going to sell everything in two days!

Pero aún con los nuevos diseños, como el cuello, o collar, el lanzamiento no fue tan exitoso como Joseph esperaba.

Y los meses siguientes fueron lentos.

Joseph estaba confundido.

I didn’t know why I wasn’t selling more shirts.

So, in 2015, I decided to get a job at a clothing store to learn more about selling men’s clothes.

I started to learn more about different materials and styles, and I even improved my sewing skills.

And then I realized what I was doing wrong.

Because the guayabera is a shirt that people usually wear for special events, like weddings, it needs to be high quality.

I thought if my shirts were super high quality, then more people were going to buy them!!

Joseph tomó algunas decisiones audaces.

Encontró telas de mejor calidad, como lino y algodón, y empezó a trabajar con artistas en los diseños de los bordados.

I wasn’t going to give up.

Every night and every weekend, I worked on my company.

I took new photos for the website, I got more advertisements, and I posted on social media a couple of times every day.

Slowly, more people started buying my shirts.

I couldn’t believe it!

Las guayaberas renovadas de Joseph fueron todo un éxito.

Eran supercoloridas y tenían estampados divertidos, como flores llamativas.

¡Incluso tenían obras de arte de artistas locales de Miami! Rápidamente las camisas comenzaron a agotarse.

I made one guayabera called “Flamingo Vibes” for Miami.

The shirt was a bright blue color, and it was made of cotton and linen.

It had a beautiful pink flamingo with flowers around it.

Now I see people wearing my shirts on the street all the time, and it’s always amazing.

I hope that I can keep bringing the guayabera to even more people.

My journey shows that in Miami, if you have a passion, and you believe in it, you’ll always find people to support you.

Para Joseph el ambiente creativo de su ciudad natal, Miami, fue fundamental para el éxito de su negocio.

Nuestra segunda protagonista, Pangea Kali Virga, también encontró inspiración en la moda gracias a esta ciudad.

Llegó a Miami en 2018 buscando su inigualable escena artística.

Después de vivir durante años en Nueva York y en el extranjero, ella y su pareja deseaban un nuevo comienzo.

We were interested in Miami because we heard it was a creative city.

My partner and I love to move to new places for new adventures.

We also wanted to live somewhere warm and near a community of Spanish speakers, so Miami was perfect.

We arrived right before one of the most important international art festivals in the world, Art Basel, and we were excited because we really wanted to see art and fashion from all around the world.

Pero no fue solo la escena artística de Miami lo que captó su atención.

Al llegar, Pangea quedó impactada por dos cosas: la vibrante flora y fauna, como los loros, o parrots, nativos de Miami, y la crisis climática que amenazaba el paisaje del ecosistema.

When I first arrived in Miami, I was amazed by the beautiful nature.

It was incredible to see wildlife like parrots and dolphins.

But at the same time, I started to hear about natural disasters, like fish dying from pollution or floods.

These types of events happen a lot in Miami, and it’s really sad, but I realized that a lot of people here wanted to help the climate crisis.

They were ready to do anything.

Como la gente efectivamente quería hablar del cambio climático, Pangea se dio cuenta de que Miami podría ser el lugar perfecto para centrarse en una de sus pasiones: la moda sustentable, o sustainable fashion.

Esto significa que la ropa está hecha con telas hechas de materiales eco-amigables, como materiales reciclados.

My grandparents took care of me when I was growing up, and they taught me how to save and recycle things.

Many years later, I realized that I could take care of the environment in this way.

Antes de llegar a Miami, Pangea había trabajado en moda tanto en Nueva York como en el extranjero.

Vio de primera mano lo derrochadora que era esta industria.

Esto hizo que Pangea se diera cuenta de que su carrera en la moda y sus valores no estaban en sintonía.

Pero en Miami, vio una oportunidad para combinarlos.

After I moved to Miami, I wanted to start making my career more sustainable.

I started with styling, which is dressing people for events or models for magazine photos.

To do this in a sustainable way, I only used clothes that were created by designers who cared about sustainable fashion.

Soon, I started to realize that in Miami, most fashion events didn’t include sustainable fashion designers.

¡Miami es un epicentro de la moda en crecimiento! Tiene un estilo vibrante y colorido, conocido por sus bikinis acompañados de accesorios extravagantes y vestidos entallados.

Pero Pangea se dio cuenta de que el sentido de la moda de la ciudad también tenía influencias de las distintas culturas que viven allí.

When I think about Miami, I think about bright colors.

People love them here.

And there are so many people from all over the world in Miami, so there are many different types of fashion.

Miami organiza una importante semana de la moda internacional cada año, la segunda más grande en Estados Unidos.

Esos días están compuestos por una serie de eventos exclusivos y desfiles de moda que resaltan principalmente a diseñadores latinoamericanos y caribeños.

I was very excited, but when I learned more about the designers in the show, I felt a little sad.

It was Miami Fashion week, but there were almost no local designers in the show.

And it seemed like no one cared about sustainable fashion.

I couldn’t believe it.

I realized that sustainable fashion designers from Miami needed a space to work together.

So I thought, “I need to create my own sustainable fashion show.”

Pangea ya había organizado desfiles de moda anteriormente, pero sabía que construir algo desde cero en una nueva ciudad sería todo un desafío.

Hasta que un día, se inspiró después de conocer a una persona con una chaqueta de jean fantástica.

I noticed someone wearing a really beautiful jean jacket that was made of other old jean jackets.

So, I told the person that I liked it.

We started talking, and we realized that we both were interested in sustainable fashion.

They said that they had an amazing space for a fashion show.

I said, “I know how to organize fashion shows, so let’s do it!”

Cuando Pangea tuvo esta coincidencia casual en el autobús de Miami, sintió que era el destino.

Sin perder tiempo, puso manos a la obra.

Consiguió un lugar, Collins Park, un espacio público en pleno corazón de Miami Beach.

Ahora solo tenía que planear el resto.

I wanted my show to be completely different from Fashion Week in Miami.

I wanted it to be free and open to the public because everyone should know about sustainable fashion.

So, I had to get money to pay for important things for a fashion show, like speakers and lights.

That’s when I started emailing local businesses to ask for support.

Con un presupuesto casi inexistente, Pangea tuvo que ponerse creativa.

Además, quería involucrar a la comunidad local tanto como fuera posible.

I contacted all of the fashion design schools in Miami, and a lot of their students came to work on the show.

They met designers, who taught them more about fashion design.

Then I contacted the schools for hairstylists and makeup artists.

I asked if the students wanted to come and get experience with hairstyling and makeup at a fashion show.

I also made a new friend who had a restaurant, and he gave free food to everyone who was working on the show.

I really wanted it to be a community event where everyone helped each other.

Durante los meses siguientes, los esfuerzos de Pangea y su equipo comenzaron a dar resultados y el espectáculo, poco a poco, iba tomando forma.

Decidieron llamarlo Miami On Sight, o “Miami a la vista”, para celebrar la ciudad.

When I first started organizing the show, I was really confident.

It wasn’t my first fashion show, so I knew I could do it.

But as the day got closer, I started to feel more and more nervous.

On the day before the show, I was so worried that nobody was going to come.

I couldn’t sleep because I was so stressed!

El día del show, Pangea llegó temprano a Collins Park para preparar todo.

El parque tenía un extenso césped verde, un lugar perfecto para que todos pudieran disfrutar del espectáculo.

When I first arrived, the sun was setting and no one was there.

But soon, there were 500 people! I couldn’t believe it! When it was time to start the show, a local band started playing and the models began to walk down a path.

Their outfits showed the work of 16 different sustainable fashion designers from Miami, who all used recycled materials.

It looked amazing!

Todo marchaba sobre ruedas, pero Pangea estaba pendiente del público, observando atentamente sus reacciones.

Quería ver cómo respondería la comunidad de Miami a todo su esfuerzo.

The band continued to play as the models walked on the path.

I saw the audience smiling, cheering, and even dancing.

And then, at the end of the show, all the models and the people in the audience started dancing together.

There were so many different types of people in the crowd.

They were laughing and talking to each other, and everyone was so happy.

Desde el desfile de Pangea, la moda sustentable en Miami tomó más fuerza que nunca.

Las conexiones que hizo generaron muchas oportunidades tanto para ella como para otros diseñadores de la comunidad.

Esto le permitió seguir apoyando a su hogar en Miami, especialmente frente al desafío del cambio climático.

When I first moved here, I didn’t know many people, but when I organized the fashion show, I connected with so many new people! The show helped everyone learn about sustainable fashion, and designers who didn’t know each other became friends and started working together.

Now there are even more opportunities for people to learn about sustainability in Miami! I also loved that so many people who lived in Miami came and supported sustainable fashion.

It was a wonderful experience!

Pangea Kali Virga es una diseñadora de moda, estilista y artista residente en el Museo Vizcaya de Miami.

Para su propia marca, Pangea recolecta ropa que la gente ya no quiere y crea prendas únicas con telas recicladas en su estudio.

Este episodio fue producido por Gabriela Saldivia, una periodista que vive en Sevilla, España.