“El Dia de la Guayabera” or “Guayabera Day” is July 1st. For those who are not familiar with men’s fashion shirts, The Guayabera is a shirt that has been worn by Latin American businessmen for the last two hundred years. In recent years various fashion designers have modified the shirt to give it a more modern look that can be worn by anyone for any occasion.
The shirt’s distinctive character of an embroidered front panel with four pockets was first made for a land owner near the Yayabero River in the Las Villas Province. This area of Cuba is known for its cultivation of Guava, a very popular tropical fruit. The local area farmers copied and adopted the shirt for carrying the fruit during harvest. They called the shirt the Guayabera.
The shirt’s popularity spread throughout Latin America, where the humid climate of the tropics made the shirt comfortable wear, especially for businessmen. As time went by the origin of the Guayabera became somewhat clouded. Many countries claimed the shirt as their own. In Mexico, where the shirt was copied from visiting tourists from Cuba, the shirt became known as the Mexican Wedding Shirt. Later on as Cubans made a mass exodus from the communist tyranny on their island, they brought the Guayabera with them.
Guayaberas were originally long sleeved shirts with pleated fronts. They had 2 upper breast pockets as well as 2 waist pockets. They were usually starched and were always worn out over the pants. The businessmen who wore the shirt were given a sense of power and distinction. The Guayaberas of today come in many different colors and fabrics. They come in long sleeves as well as short sleeves. There are even Guayabera dresses for women.
From its humble beginnings to its present fashionable status, the Guayabera is a true testament to Latin culture. Worn by dignitaries and common folk alike, it has proven to be a style that will always be in fashion. The shirt can be worn for weddings and other formal occasions as well as with jeans for just a walk in the park. Either way the wearer will always feel comfortable and be in style at the same time.
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The Guayabera Shirt has been worn by Latin Americans for the last two hundred years. For years In Miami, it has been a popular item among the older Cuban Anerican generation. Recently however, the Guayabera has reached an unprecidented popularity. It is no longer just being worn by the elderly businessman. Men of all ages and denominations have discovered its attractiveness. What is so attractive about this shirt, you may ask? In simple terms, men see the Guayabera as a power garment.
Politicians and celebrities have been wearing them for years. Besides fidel and Raul Castro other Latin American power brokers wear them consistently. American politicians have worn them as well. Ronald Reagan wore one when he visited Ferdinand Marcos in the Phillipines. Jimmy Carter wore his when he visited Cuba. And Mitt Romney wore one during his presidential campaign. When actor Andy Garcia opened his bar in Key Biscayne it was by invitation only. Most of the male guests, you guessed it, wore Guayabera shirts.
Now these Guayaberas weren’t the run of the mill cotton poly blends. These shirts resembled the original shirt mentioned in the opening pages of this site. They were custom made long sleeved shirts made from Irish linen or Eygtioan cotton with embroidered initials ranging in price at about $300.
Ramon Puig, Miami’s most famous custom Guayabera maker, says that he “can barely keep up” with the demand for his custom shirts. His business has more than doubled in the past few years, selling more than 80 shirts a day. René La Villa’s business, Guayaberas Etc., has also increased with the addition of two more stores. 
Men today have found the ideal power garment in the Guayabera. Not only does it exude a sense of power in the wearer, but with its classey looks and comfort fit it can be worn for any occasion. It can be worn in place of a business suit or with jeans. And men will pay any price to own one.
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For the last several years the Guayabera, or more commonly referred to as the Cuban Guayabera Shirt, has become a fashion trend in the United States. The shirts unique style design of front pockets, pleats and embroidered patterns has been the preferred attire for businessmen throughout Latin America. With the embargos placed on Cuba, Mexico has been the top producer of the Guayabera for the last half century.
Mexico was once the “go to” country for cheap labor, but today Mexican manufacturers are fighting exporters from Asian countries, where wages are much lower. In recent years quite a number of Guayabera factories have closed. Merida, Mexico in the Yucatan Penninsula, the capital of the guayabera industry, has been hit hard by Asian competitors, who have copied and sold the shirts to U.S. markets at cut rate prices.
Clothing exports from Mexico to the United States have been declining for the past ten years.
The sales of the Mexican Wedding Shirt, another name for the Guayabera, have fallen about 20 percent. Lourdes Rodriguez, head of the clothing business chamber in Yucatan has said that “the arrival of guayaberas from Asian countries has lowered our production.” Raul maglioni, a guayabera manufacturer said “We don’t have access to popular markets like Wal-Mart or Kmart. They demand prices we can’t afford. If they ask for five or six dollars, we can’t do it.”
The difficulty that Mexican Guayabera manufacturers have been experiencing is only a small reflection of Mexico’s dire export problem. In the last few years China has overtaken Mexico as the top exporter to the United States. The increased demand for the Cuban Guayabera Shirt by world markets and the increase in designer specialty shirts has only worsened this mexican industry.
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