At the foothills of Cumbal and its white, shining peak lies the Piedra los Machines, a testimony to the cosmovision and the long history of the Pastos people. The volcanic origin stone bears engravings of machines, or monkeys, as well as figures holding staffs and the traditional Sun of the Pastos. In the same way their ancestors used the stone to fix their symbols, Blanca Tarapués and her colleagues have used textiles. With intertwined threads woven on the guanga and the horizontal loom, they draw the sun, the monkey, the vulture, ferns, and roses, in Cumbal, very close to where the ancient petroglyph rests.

Blanca Tarapués takes special delight in making the vulture or chulo, and the chagra, their traditional field. The former reminds her of the territory, which it traverses from the sky’s summit, and the latter speaks to her of the medicinal plants and food sovereignty so fundamental to her community and the continuation of their knowledge. Blanca learned to weave from her grandmother, Rosa Elena Taimal, who instructed her in spinning, tracing, and using the guanga from the age of twelve. Later, when she realized weaving was her calling, she founded the association Piedra los Machines along with 30 other weavers in 1996, the same year her first daughter was born. Among female guanga weavers and male horizontal loom weavers, they set out to find the holders of traditional knowledge in order to learn directly from them. Riding horses and on foot, they traversed the territory in search of the masters Filomena, María Taramuel, and Zoila. They were the ones who taught her to make the symbols she repeats today, and thanks to them, she had the confidence to imagine her own designs, inspired by everything she finds in Mother Nature.

Nearly thirty years in the trade make her a witness to the ups and downs of a life dedicated to craftsmanship. At first, before facing any competition in the region, they experienced their golden years, supported by institutional aid. By the time they had to cover their own travel and exhibition expenses for fairs, the group suffered losses from those who became discouraged. Then they had to adapt to a new reality where one year they could attend fairs and the next they couldn’t. But they persisted, and continued to sell their textiles: in the community, they have never lacked customers for their wool shawls, especially as fog is part of their daily lives. And persistence paid off, as eventually, with the help of Artesanías de Colombia, they ventured into fashion, designing new garments and giving a fresh look to traditional textiles. Since then, their products have been well-received, and the group, which Blanca shares with family and friends, has remained united.