thumb|Two guayaberas seen from the back, showing the alforza pleats and the Western-style yoke
The guayabera is a men's summer shirt, worn outside the trousers, distinguished by two columns of closely sewn pleats running the length of the front and back of the shirt. Typically made of linen, silk, or cotton, and appropriate for hot and/or humid weather, guayaberas are popular in Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean (especially Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Haiti, and Puerto Rico), South America, Southeast Asia (exactly in the Philippines), Spain (specifically Andalucia and the Canary Islands), and Portugal.
Design
thumb|Closeup of a pocket on a guayabera, showing the button and aligned [[Pleat|alforzas]]
The design of a typical guayabera is distinguished by several details:
- Either two or four patch pockets and two vertical rows of alforzas (fine, tiny pleats, usually 10, sewn closely together) run down the front and three down the back of the shirt. The pockets are detailed with alforzas that are identical to, and aligned with, the alforzas on the body of the shirt.
- Long or short sleeves, the more common being the short-sleeved version, having a cuffed sleeve with a single decorative button.
- Some shirt designs include slits on either side, and these include two or three buttons. The bottom has a straight hem and is never tucked into the trousers.
thumb|left|Men wearing white filipina shirts in the traditional [[jarana Yucateca dance of Yucatán, Mexico]]
Some scholars dispute the Philippine origin based on perceived design differences. The barong traditionally does not have pockets and has an intricate U-shaped embroidery around the chest (the pechera) which is mostly absent in Cuban guayaberas. Guayaberas are also invariably made from opaque linen or cotton, unlike the barong tagalog which has two variations: cheaper variants made from common opaque fabrics (like linen) for commoners and everyday wear, and expensive embroidered piña or abacá sheer fabrics worn by the upper classes.
However, guayaberas in Mexico also have chest designs like pleats and embroidery similar to the barong (and in contrast to Cuban guayaberas); they can range from having no pockets to having one, two, or four. This is the reason why Mexicans also claim that it originated from either the state of Veracruz or the Yucatán Peninsula. In Mexico, the same basic style is also known as the "camisa de Yucatán" (Yucatán shirt)
Cubans also claim the guayabera originated from Cuba, although records of the guayabera appear much later in Cuba. Cuban literature first refers to the shirt from 1893, and documentary evidence first mentions the shirt in Cuba in 1880. The Cuban origin story tells of a poor countryside seamstress sewing large patch-pockets onto her husband's shirts for carrying guava (guayabas) from the field.
Wear and use
thumb|Former [[United States Secretary of State John Kerry and former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos wear guayaberas while discussing an upcoming peace treaty.]]
The guayabera is often worn in formal contexts, such as offices and weddings. In Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, guayaberas are part of the traditional wear for men and may be considered formalwear. In 2010, Cuba reinstated the guayabera as the "official formal dress garment".
Political symbolism
thumb|Taiwanese President [[Tsai Ing-wen|Tsai in guayabera gifted by Panama's first lady]]
Guayaberas have been worn extensively by a number of Latin American political leaders, including Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Cesar Chavez, Carlos Prío Socarrás, and Fidel Castro. Michael Manley, populist Jamaican prime minister, specifically advocated for the guayabera as an anti-colonialist mode of dress, and conversely the shirt was later banned in Parliament by the conservative Jamaica Labour Party. Similarly, Mexican left-wing populist Luis Echeverría advocated for its use in Mexico in part to symbolize rejection of European and American-style business suits. and when attending Latin American summits.
Similar shirts and alternative names
A variety of similar, lightweight dress shirts exists in other tropical countries. These include:
- In the United States of America: the Western shirts with pointed yokes and elaborate embroidery were directly copied from the guayaberas of 19th century Mexican vaqueros.
- In Guyana: a similar or identical shirt is called a "shirt-jac".
- In Jamaica: the guayabera is called a "bush jacket". They are worn for both formal and casual occasions. In tropical countries like the Dominican Republic, chacabanas are used for black tie events such as weddings, business meetings and even political events. It is also traditionally made of hand-woven, fine, translucent piña or jusi fiber, rather than linen.