Diana Stella Betancur was born in Bogotá, but she doesn’t consider herself from here or there; she feels fully Colombian. In her home, which also serves as her workshop and farm, the music of her country plays all day long. As she sings along, she weaves with fique, a fiber from the warm lands of Santander that she fell in love with ten years ago.

She arrived in Bucaramanga thirty years ago with her husband and daughter, taking on the role of regional manager for a company that produced latex-free condoms—a job surprisingly different from what her future had promised. She recalls that upon her arrival, the governor at the time would often say that anyone who steps on Santander soil turns into a Santandereano. After becoming a widow, she followed her late husband’s advice to leave the city and move to a town. She chose Curití, where she immediately opened a store selling fique products. Educated in the old ways, she knew how to sew, create buttonholes, weave, and attach buttons, so it didn’t take her long to learn how to weave with fique alongside the locals, to whom she owes her entire current knowledge. She started organizing a group, beginning with five people, then ten, and now she has a team of 25 single mothers from Curití, San Gil, and El Socorro, all working from their homes.

But after the pandemic, like so many others, her life changed. People stopped coming to Curití out of fear of traveling, and Diana Stella realized that El Socorro, just an hour away, was bustling with activity. She found her dream home just a block from the main square’s Basilica—a spacious place with a fountain in the central courtyard and a backyard where she could raise chickens and harvest mangoes, oranges, avocados, and guavas. Most importantly, it had rooms where she could work on what she loves most. Life surprised her with a new love, Luis Ricardo, who happened to accompany a friend—the owner of the house—on the day the keys were handed over to Diana Stella.

They now spend their afternoons and evenings weaving and sharing stories. They often wonder where they find so many topics to discuss while they weave and talk late into the night, sometimes until one in the morning, crafting bags, belts, and rugs, imagining new combinations and pieces. This isn’t just work; weaving with fique represents the joy they feel when they see their creations finished, no matter how small. They enjoy sharing the craft, having found each other at a moment in their lives where their priority is simply to be happy.

With her friendly and sociable nature, Diana Stella has dedicated herself to spreading her love for fique. She elevates it as a fiber with healing properties—she has seen it for herself. Strips of fique tied to the body stimulate circulation, alleviating pain and cramps. Walking barefoot on a fique rug, feeling the threads prick the skin, resembles having walked great distances, while scrubbing the body with a fique glove leaves the skin glowing. To the women she works with—whom she considers family since she has seen their children grow and their lives change—she imparts one of her guiding principles: everything woven must be perfect because each piece carries a little bit of its weaver—her eyes, which gradually lose their sight; her hands, which may develop arthritis over time from the heat of the fiber; and her back, which gets weary from sitting. So how could they not dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to their weaving, when it is, in essence, a part of themselves?