National Heritage Fellow, 2003 Master Lacemaker
“For me mundillo (lacemaking) is an art because, like the painter who has in his imagination what he wants to create on the canvas, so it is for us: we create, invent, and design what we want to make in lace.”
–Rose Elena Egipciao
Rosa Elena Egipciaco is a Puerto Rican lacemaker, or tejedora, [pronounced tay-ha-dora] who lives in New York City. A perfectionist, she is a demanding yet generous teacher. Her passion for preserving the very old tradition of lacemaking known as mundillo [pronounced mun-di-yo] reminds us how important it is to be cultural stewards, to pass along skills as well as stories that are important to us and our families.
