Hana Golden "Solo el Pueblo, Salva al Pueblo." - Cuetlaxōchitl bandana (Light Blue)
Colonization. Capitalism. Christmas. A Bright Red Colorful Story…
Long before it became a symbol of Christmas, this lovely plant was known to the Aztecs as cuetlaxōchitl (kwet-la-sho-shel), or "the flower that wilts." They used its bright red petals for dyes and its sap as medicine to reduce fever.
It's also called poinsettia, for Joel Poinsett, who first sent some plants from Mexico to the United States. He was an ambassador, botanist, slave owner and displacer of countless Native Americans. (The word poinsettismo—unwanted foreign or bureaucratic meddling—also stems from him.)
Cuetlaxōchitl blooms gloriously in winter. Spanish missionaries in Mexico in the 16th century used it to decorate Nativity scenes, and so the flower that wilts also became the Christmas Eve flower, la flor de Nochebuena.
In the 1920's, Paul Ecke of Encinitas, Calif., found a way to cultivate the plants indoors in mass quantities. That's how cuetlaxōchitl became an economic and cultural force during the Christmas season. Around 70% of all commercially grown cuetlaxōchitl plants come from Encinitas. (Beware: They're treated with fungicide that makes them toxic to pets.)
In 2002, Congress declared Dec. 12 “National Poinsettia Day,” to honor Poinsett and Ecke. In Mexico, this is also Día de la Virgen of Guadalupe, the feast of Mexico's patron saint. Her flower is the rose, but that is another story.
With its complex history, need for darkness and magnificent transformation, cuetlaxōchitl has long captured the human imagination.
This holiday season, give this NDLON bandana to the ones you love, and tell them the bittersweet history of the cuetlaxōchitl, Mexico's winter gift to the world.
Bandana Designed by Artist: Hana Golden
Artist Statement/Bio: Hana Golden is an LA-based illustrator and sequential artist who seeks to create images as a means of exploring drawing as an alchemical process (and to keep her idle hands busy).
Through her florid botanical illustrations, Hana endeavors to capture the beauty of the LA basin chaparral and the stewards of this land, both old and new!
22" x 22" premium cotton bandana. Olive color fabric with 4 water based ink colors. All proceeds go to NDLON's campaign and programing work. Bandanas are hand-cut & hand-printed so each bandana has its own natural variation in shape and size.
*bandana care: machine washable, air dry only.