Typical Garments Worn by Mestizos

Just as Yucatecan women wear their “ternos” and “hipiles” for certain occasions, the men (Mestizos) also have typical garments, as elegant as the terno and suitable to the warm tropical climate.

Special occasion ensemble
This ensemble consists of white straight long pants with cuff at the bottom, with vertical pockets in front and horizontal pockets in back. The shirt, called a “chamarra,” is white, long sleeved, made of poplin, with high, round neck; this is worn over a short sleeved cotton shirt. The wealthy use buttons of gold on the chamarra.

A straw hat is worn (known as a “jipijapa”) with two indentations in the front, adjusted with a narrow black band. White leather sandals known as “chillonas” are worn, with a thick high heel. The finishing touch is a red scarf tied to the right side pocket, or around the neck when the chamarra is worn open.

Daily ensemble
Straight denim pants are worn with a closed shirt with two bone buttons; the shirt is made from “cotín,” striped raw cotton used for mattresses. The ubiquitous red scarf is also worn along with a straw hat.

Work clothes
In the fields or for manual labor, long raw cotton pants are worn with a cotín waist overall. It is accompanied by a long-sleeved raw cotton shirt, straw hat, and flat leather sandals with henequén string laces. They always carry a backpack called “sabucán” made of henequén, where they keep their farm tools and their food, and drinking water is carried in a gourd or “chuh”. In this they prepare their pozole, which in Yucatán is a mixture made from corn meal, with grains of corn ground manually with water added, accompanied by a pinch of salt and chile habanero with every bite.

The traditional garments have been disappearing with the passage of time among the majority of the Mestizos, with only a few maintaining these clothing customs. Some, who still conserve the authentic traditions, dress as Mestizos, especially at their dances or night fiestas, but the majority wear, instead of the long-sleeved white shirt, a “guayabera” which is a shirt of Cuban origin.