Erendira Guerrero makes teddy bears with the clothing that her clients bring to her workshop.
(Photo: EFE)
(CNN Spanish) ––
In the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez
,
Eréndira Guerrero makes fabric bears with clothes selected by her clients.
Guerrero made them to celebrate marriages or birthdays.
Due to the pandemic and the increase in deaths from covid-19, his clients come to his workshop to have a bear made with the clothes of relatives who died from covid-19 and, thus, try to save their essence and heal their loss .
"The idea of bears came up two years ago and now with covid-19 it has increased much more.
They were done sporadically, as required.
Honestly, right now it has skyrocketed more from the end of November ", says Eréndira Guerrero in an interview for CNN from her workshop.
She spends several hours making bears.
The garments must arrive washed at your workshop.
Once the garment is available, it is re-disinfected.
The cloth is cut and then transformed into a bear.
The craftswoman describes that the delivery of the bears is always something special, but since it is a bear made with the garment of someone who has died, the relevance is greater.
When they come for him.
And I'm on my way to hand it over to him.
It totally changes the story.
You see a sad person, both happy and at the same time with the illusion of hugging him.
The love of his memories comes.
From their experiences.
And they can't help the feeling of crying, no matter how compressed, because it is about me, of 'I can't not cry because we're not used to crying in front of people.'
And that's where you break along with them.
It is the feeling at a distance, but there is a very beautiful connection, very enriching.
In particular, it is a very great honor for me », explains Eréndira.
People who have acquired a cloth bear send messages of thanks for Eréndira on social networks.
Bears cost around $ 30. You can add details, embroidered phrases, and even custom audios have been included.
advertising
The Mexican seamstress mentions that she has a theory that bears keep the essence of loved ones who have passed away and help in some way to heal the pain of families.
“You are not talking about a fabric that has never been used, so the bears are different.
I call it the essence of each one », he mentions.
“The coronavirus does not give you the same opportunity as before, that death itself even gave you, which was to see your sick person.
Or if something happened, you had the opportunity to watch over it and go through that process.
The fact that you are even in a funeral home watching and praying, seeing your family, a cuddle, that made you a little stronger.
And I say that psychologically it helped you to heal and accept the departure of that loved one and fire him in some way.
As we are used to, especially Mexicans.
Not right now, right now you are talking about not having the opportunity or saying goodbye at the last moment », reflects Guerrero.
Due to the fact that it is a craft work, delivery times tend to take long.
And the high demand for the product has made Eréndira's daughters get involved in the business.
Guerrero has also made some bears for working mothers and fathers in the health sector who are fighting the pandemic and leaving their children alone for several hours.
«For people who are sometimes in the health sector who leave their babies at home, their little children, because the voice of mother, the clothes, the smell of mother, is a nice detail.
We are talking about the duration of the poor quartered, God knows how long, ”says Eréndira.
The artisan told CNN that she has clients who, upon hearing about her bears, contacted her to ask her to prepare some with a "living message" because "the covid-19 situation has also made people think about death." ensures.
“One person in particular told me 'I want a teddy bear, while I am alive, for my two children.
Now that I saw the proposal it caught my attention because I want to record my voice to each of my children, with a message so that the day I am gone, my grandchildren, great-grandchildren and others have it, that it be a memory and that they know who was I, '"says Guerrero.
In Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, where Eréndira Guerrero is from, deaths from covid-19 persist.
The state is in an epidemiological orange traffic light, only one step away from the maximum epidemiological risk.
Mexico once again has a rebound in infections and deaths from coronavirus.
Since the start of the pandemic, 1.7 million positive cases of covid-19 and 146,174 deaths related to the disease have been confirmed, according to authorities.
29 of the 32 states are on high or maximum alert for coronavirus infections and deaths.
Pandemic
