Perhaps one of the most exciting moments of her life took place in Córdoba, Argentina, in one of her very first trips outside of the country. She won second place in an artisan contest that brought together wares from 18 different countries. With an eloquence and grace that never diminish, Nelly recounts how she chased after a large woman throughout the entire fair until she convinced her to wear a macramé dress that seemed to have been made especially for her. Everybody was surprised by how well it fit her. After many pictures and joys, this episode Duitama’s craftsmanship shine in that country. This is one of the thousands of stories of this woman, who has made “the art of knot-making” a consecrated trade for more than 40 years, and whose permanence has been guaranteed thanks to all the school she has made. She is proud of knowing that the suede and silk macramé garments made in her workshop have made her famous in and outside her country.

However, she remembers that it was not easy as a child. When she was a teenager, she lost her father. It was then that her bubble popped. Her mother, a widow at 36 and now alone with 5 children, told her the truth about their home. “Mommy, are we poor?” she remembers asking. Knowing that they were upset her, but that quickly made her take charge of things and act as the older sister she was. From that moment on, she has never stopped being the force that moves everything around her as a grandmother, mother, sister, businesswoman, and leader of her community. She had it clear from a very young age: although the kerchief is one of her town’s traditions —since it is the garment every woman wears to church and to special events—, she did not want to wear one at 15, so she set herself the task of innovating designs and seeking elegance with other sorts of wares.

She knew that what she did was special when she stole the show in Spain. She tells of the time when an emerald saleswoman needed something eye-catching to decorate a small stand in that country and asked her to hang a couple of macramé shawls. She never imagined that what would start selling were the garments and not the precious stones. It then so happened that the interest in her handmade work in Boyacá would later extend to an order of 1,500 shawls for the renowned El Corte Inglés store. The stories add up within this joyful and generous woman, a good listener of his customers and capable of acknowledging and recognizing herself in all the women that have accompanied her throughout her life. With a way for working collaboratively, she has managed to unite the people around the common purpose of not letting any trade die. With this goal in mind, she looks for markets through Heaven and Earth in which to sell her weavers’ products. Today, she resents the reduction of the silk raw material due to its international circulation. Nonetheless, she does not stop and continues exploring new horizons with cotton.

She celebrates her department’s artisanal work. She has become an ambassador for the macramé technique and an exceptional spokesperson for its richness, having embarked for more than two decades in the dream of making Duitama a Pueblito Boyacense and living there with her family, as well as with the other 120 families of artisans distributed along its seven blocks. She is convinced that every one of this department’s towns cultivates artisanal trades, and that dedication and family tradition can be felt when anybody takes a step here, a place that almost 150,000 people visit each month. All of the work she has undertaken not just making quality products, but also joyfully spreading the landscape and honor that comes with being a craftsperson has had the objective of dignifying and valuing those who are behind these arts.

She is an example of consecration and she wants it to be like that forever. “Weaving is my life and what nobody is ever going to take away from me is the time a spend doing it: the time I spend on the threads, the silks, and the fabrics I start tangling. It is there where my imagination starts to fly.”