Las Tapadas Limeñas

The freedom in disguise

Peru- Lima in the 1560's women began wearing veils that covered their heads, faces, and most of their bodies. A dress that made men and local and Iberian authorities angry and powerless in the face of women's determination to wear their favorite garments and defend their freedom of movement in the city. Women were even able to avoid a ban on their favorite garments on many occasions.

The fear of this custom, already widespread among Liman women and that had generated so many misunderstandings and confusion, made the authorities suspect that the first cases of transvestism in the Viceroyalty were taking place.

The garments worn by these women were the saya and manto. The saya was a dress that covered the wearer from the feet to the waist and was usually made of silk. The manto was a long piece of silk, usually black, that was tied around the waist and reached back and covered the face, leaving only one eye visible. The origins of the saya and manto are still not entirely clear, some historians believe the origins are from the Moors, but the use of the veil had an entirely different meaning. The Sayo and Manto gave freedom, liberation, and anonymity. This allowed women to move without the constant supervision of a man.

"She puts on the saya without a corset, lets her hair fall, wraps her body with the manto and goes out wherever she wants.

She meets her husband in the street, who does not recognize her, she intrigues him with her look, with her expression, she provokes him with phrases, and they talk to each other.

She is offered ice cream, fruit, cookies, and a date. She leaves and a moment later she is talking to an officer walking down the same street. She can take this little adventure as far as she wants without ever taking off her veil. " In this passage, we can understand that women could flirt and make any misstep they wanted without risking damaging their reputation. She enchanted the imagination and hearts of many and made the woman a popular heroine of colonial Peru.

Back then, it was the minority group of women who used the veil to express themselves. In the present time, there are many groups that are afraid to express themselves because of the many prejudices that rest on them. This is one of the reasons I wanted to create this series. It's a reaction to the lack of representation of the Peruvian history of transgenders in the time of Las Tapadas that existed for 3 centuries in Lima.

'The veil that gives strength to be yourself'