Aurora Vera grew up surrounded by fique, watching her mother process it daily. She would come home with bags of fique, prepare it by greasing, combing and spraying it, and leave it to dry before spinning it. Then, she would take it to San Gil, where she sold it to buy groceries and provide for Aurora and her siblings’ school supplies. Like many artisans, Aurora learned the craft simply by observing her mother, receiving no formal instructions for spinning. However, her mischievous nature led her to experiment with the spinning wheel on her own, creating thick strands that bore little resemblance to her mother’s fine fibers.

Her childhood pastime didn’t capture her interest again until after her mother passed away. It was then that she felt the pull of the craft that coursed through her veins and gathered her friends to ask, “”What do we do?”” The answer was clear: unite and work with fique. She began attending training sessions at the Sena, befriending the instructors and becoming more involved, actively seeking out more women to join them. This collective effort led to the establishment of the El Maguey Artisan Foundation in 2010, where Aurora serves as the legal representative and is primarily responsible for preparing the threads.

In addition to her love for fique, she inherited from her mother a specialization in a crucial step—spinning—which she has complemented with courses in natural dyeing. She spins using a motor and dyes with eucalyptus, myrtle bark, purple onion skins, sawdust, and the leaves from matarratón and sangre de Cristo trees. She continually experiments, searching for herbs to discover new colors, and gathers women to fill spots in every course she finds to expand their craft. She approaches this with the same determination that fuels her artisanal work, encouraging her peers and striving to source raw materials, which have become scarce since many have switched their maguey crops to coffee. She also works to engage younger generations, who are increasingly less interested in these traditional skills. Despite the years that have passed, she continues to manage projects and resources, driven by her passion and love for her craft.