China Poblana

Alma Delia Beltrn Carpinteyro

 The

China Poblana or Chinese

Pueblan is considered the traditional

style of dress of women in Puebla
Mirra

who in her time was known as

"China Poblana,a slave, that
according to legend belonged to a
noble family from India.

She

lived in the time of the colony in

China Poblanas legend

Catarina de San
Juan known as the
China Poblana, a
young Indian
woman was
brought from the
Philippines by ship
to be the viceroy's
personal servant.
This girl, named
Mirra, was
kidnapped by
Portuguese pirates
and taken to south
of India. There, she
escaped her
kidnappers and
took refuge in a
Jesuit mission,
where she was

Mirra was then delivered to

Manila where she was
purchased as a slave by a
merchant who later took her to
New Spain. But once they
disembarked in the port of
Acapulco, instead of delivering
her to the Marquis, the
merchant sold her as a slave
to the Pueblan man Miguel de
Sosa for ten times the price
that the viceroy had promised
for her.

Mirra followed the style of dress of

her birth country, India, completely
wrapped in a dress that covered her
whole body. A few years after her
arrival in Mexico, Miguel de Sosa
died, providing in his will for the
manumission of his slave. She was
taken in by a convent, where it is
said she began to have visions of the
Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus.

Catarina de San Juan died 5

January 1688 at the age of 82
years. In Puebla de los ngeles
she was venerated as a popular
saint until 1691, when the Holy
Inquisition prohibited open
devotion to her. Today, the former
Jesuit church, the Templo de la
Compaa, in Puebla, is known as
La Tumba de la China Poblana
because in its sacristy lie the
remains of Catarina de San Juan

Temple of the Company is located at Avenida 4 Sur

#102, between Juan de Palafox and 3 Oriente,
Colonia Centro Puebla

Vestment

The fashion of the china poblana

dress incorporates elements from
the diverse cultures that were mixed
in New Spain during the Spanish
rule.
China outfit is made up of the
following garments:
o

A white blouse

A skirt called castor (or,

"beaver"),
Aloop (presilla)
Ashawl,
ascarforkerchiefof silk
A footwear,

o
o
o
o

Puebla

Puebla has three monuments of

China poblana

La fuente de la China poblana is

located in Blvd. Hroes del 5 de
Mayo(Av. Defensores de la
Repblica),Puebla de
Zaragoza,Puebla

China poblanas house at 4 Norte

No. 2, Col. Centro Histrico

Templo de la Compaa,

China Poblanas house

In the 17th century, Doa Catarina

de San Juan lived in this house. This
beautiful house, with its unique
characteristics, is an architectural
gem nestled in the heart of the
historic center of Puebla. Since 1996,
and following a magnificent
remodeling and rescue, it was
adapted as an exclusive Boutique
Hotel and Restaurant-Bar.

Traditional dance in Puebla with China Poblana

Thank