---
node: garment_rebozo
type: garment
slug: rebozo
title: "Rebozo"
lead: "The rebozo is the long rectangular shawl of Mexican women, wrapped around the head and shoulders and used to carry a baby or a load. A mestizo garment born in colonial New Spain, it blends Indigenous, Spanish, and Asian threads into a national emblem."
published: 2026-08-10
updated: 2026-08-10
image_file: rebozo.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mujer_con_rebozo,_Manuel_Manilla.jpg"
image_author: "Manuel Manilla"
image_license: "Public domain"
---

## Overview

A rebozo is a long, narrow woven cloth, its ends usually finished in a hand-knotted fringe, made in cotton, silk, or wool. Draped, wrapped, or twisted, one cloth serves as a shawl against cold, a veil for church, a sling for an infant, and a bundle for goods.

## How it is worn

It is worn over the head and shoulders, crossed over the chest, or tied to make a pouch that carries a child on the back or the hip, its long fringe hanging free. Fine ikat-dyed rebozos are treasured heirlooms; plainer ones are the everyday wrap of market and home.

## History

The rebozo took shape in New Spain from Indigenous shoulder cloths, the Spanish mantilla, and silk brought across the Pacific, and became a defining dress of Mexican women. Towns such as Santa María del Río and Tenancingo remain famous for weaving them.