Between frames and generations: redefining Tinogasta embroidery

Authors

  • María Martina Cassiau National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) Regional Institute of Socio-Cultural Studies (IRES) National University of Catamarca (UNCa.) National University of San Martín (UNSAM) https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8749-2785

Keywords:

Tinogasteño embroidery, handicrafts, Catamarca, situated learning.

Abstract

This paper analyzes Tinogasta embroidery as a native category that encapsulates practices, relationships, and disputes surrounding a textile craft in the department of Tinogasta, Catamarca Province, Argentina. Based on fieldwork conducted between 2016 and 2021 in Tinogasta and rural communities such as Villa San Roque, Santa Rosa, and El Puesto, the paper reconstructs how embroiderers distinguish between “the embroidery of the past” and “the embroidery of today.” The analysis draws on the contributions of anthropologist Esther Hermitte, whose typology of textile artisans in Belén continues to offer insights into understanding differentiated positions within the craft field. It also considers Jean Lave’s notion of situated learning and Rosana Guber’s reflexive ethnographic perspective to examine the transmission of the craft and the researcher’s role. Tinogasta embroidery is presented as a social practice in constant redefinition, traversed by continuities and transformations, in which senses of belonging and identity are disputed.

Author Biography

María Martina Cassiau, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) Regional Institute of Socio-Cultural Studies (IRES) National University of Catamarca (UNCa.) National University of San Martín (UNSAM)

She is a textile designer, having graduated from the Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Design (FADU) at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), specializing in Cultural Heritage Management, and holds a Master's degree in Social Anthropology from the National University of San Martín (UNSAM). Since 2024, she has been a doctoral candidate in Social Anthropology at UNSAM, supported by a doctoral scholarship from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). Her doctoral project expands upon lines of research initiated in her Master's thesis, focusing on the organization of labor, situated transmission of knowledge, and its connections to cultural policies and tourism in Tinogasta, Catamarca Province. She directed “Silk of the Mountain, Hidden Treasure, a project to safeguard intangible cultural heritage in Ancasti, Catamarca,” funded by CRESPIAL UNESCO in 2016 and declared of interest by the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in 2019. She volunteered at the José Hernández Museum of Folk Art between 2012 and 2014, working on conservation, textile storage, and exhibition design. She has been a member of the Study and Working Group on Everyday Things at IDES CONICET since 2020 and the Material Culture Research Group at UNPAZ since 2019. She has been a professor in the Anthropology and Heritage department at the School of Economics and Business of UNSAM since 2023. She is also an adjunct professor at FADU UBA, in the Design, Crafts, and Heritage department since 2021. She has curated exhibitions at the Spanish Cultural Center in Buenos Aires and Rosario.

References

Cassiau, María Martina (2025). Diseños de ayer y hoy. La historia bordada de Tinogasta. En Osorio Morán, Alejandro (Comp.), Acta Congreso DISUR. 9º Congreso DISUR, Huellas Territoriales Junio 2024. Valparaíso – Chile (pp. 632-647). Red DISUR Universidad de Valparaíso. https:// disenouv.cl/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/LIBRO-PONENCIAS-DISUR2024-3-2025-Disenouv.pdf

Cassiau, María Martina (2024). ¿Colchas, mantas o patrimonio cultural? Una etnografía sobre el derrotero de las artesanías bordadas de Tinogasta. [Tesis de Licenciatura Universidad Nacional de San Martin] Repositorio institucional UNSAM https://ri.unsam.edu.ar/handle/123456789/2288

Cassiau, María Martina (2023). Bordados de ayer y hoy. En Aranovich Juan Manuel y Cassini, Sabrina (Comps.), Encuentro Nacional de Formación Cultural 2023. Dirección Nacional de Formación Cultural Secretaría de Gestión Cultural Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación Argentina RGC Libros. https://formarbackend.cultura.gob.ar/media/Encuentro_Nacional_20231207.pdf

Guber, Rosana (2011). La etnografía: Método, campo y reflexividad. Siglo XXI Editores.

Guber, Rosana y Ferrero, Lía (2020). Antropologías hechas en Argentina. Volumen I. Asociación Latinoamericana de Antropología.

Hermitte, Esther y Herrán, Carlos (1970). ¿Patronazgo o cooperativismo? Obstáculos a la modificación del sistema de interacción social en una comunidad del noroeste argentino. Revista Latinoamericana de Sociología, 2, 293-317.

Lave, Jean y Chaiklin, Seat (1996). Estudiar las prácticas. Perspectivas sobre actividad y contexto. Colección Agenda Educativa. Cambridge University Press.

Lave, Jean (1988). La cognición en la práctica. Cambridge University Press.

Otras fuentes consultadas

Hermitte, Esther y Segre, Malvina. Artesanas textiles en la región del noroeste argentino: tipo de unidad productiva y formas de articulación con el mercado nacional. Documento de Trabajo de Campo en Catamarca. Instituto de Desarrollo Económico y Social (IDES), Centro de Antropología Social (CAS). Archivo “Esther Hermitte”. Acceso a documentos en línea. https:// www.ides.org.ar/biblioteca/archivo-hermitte/documentos

Hermitte, Esther. Patron-Client relationships in a North West Argentina community. Instituto de Desarrollo Económico y Social (IDES), Centro de Antropología Social (CAS). Archivo “Esther Hermitte”. Acceso a documentos en línea. https://www.ides.org.ar/biblioteca/archivohermitte/documentos

Hermitte, Esther y Klein, Herbert (1972). Crecimiento y estructura de una comunidad provinciana de tejedores de ponchos: Belén 1678-1869. Documento de Trabajo. Instituto Torcuato Di Tella.

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Published

2026-01-31

How to Cite

Cassiau, M. M. (2026). Between frames and generations: redefining Tinogasta embroidery. Memorias Disidentes. Revista De Estudios críticos Del Patrimonio, Archivos Y Memorias, 3(5), 19–30. Retrieved from https://ojs.unsj.edu.ar/index.php/Mdis/article/view/1439

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 5 (2026): Handicrafts. Sensitive art from the margins

Section

Sección Académica

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Copyright (c) 2026 María Martina Cassiau

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