ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s UCF Arts Week, and professors Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz and Kristina Tollefson have made a dress entirely out of debris left behind by Hurricane Maria.
Here’s what you need to know about the innovative dress and how it represents the resilience of Puerto Ricans.
1. What is it made of?
The dress is made of debris left behind by Hurricane Maria, which Raimundi-Ortiz and Tollefson found on their three-day trip to Puerto Rico last December.
It contains everything from Spam cans, music notes, fence posts, and pieces of tarp used to cover homes following the natural disaster.
2. How long did it take to construct?
It took 40 hours for Tollefson to construct the three-layered dress and takes several minutes to put together.
3. How much does it weight?
The dress weights an estimated 40 pounds. Raimundi-Ortiz wanted the dress to be heavy to represent the struggle Puerto Ricans went through after the hurricane. The majority of the weight comes from the tarp.
4. What type of dress is it?
The design of the dress made of debris is inspired by Afro-Latino folk style dresses seen in Bomba y Plena dancers. Bomba y Plena dresses are colorful and voluptuous. The dresses contain three layers: an underskirt, the dress, and the cape head dress.
5. Is it wearable?
Yes. Raimundi-Ortiz plans to walk for 1 mile in downtown Orlando as musicians play Bombay Plena music with the use of two-barreled drums on Saturday, April 13.
It would be only the third time she has worn the dress.