Kapote (Man’s Poncho)

This 20th-century man’s kapote, or poncho, stands in stark contrast to the 19th-century boy’s version across the gallery. One hundred years has made a remarkable difference. They are both ponchos, however, and as such reflect the dramatic post-Hispanic changes to indigenous dress, especially that of men. The Spanish reintroduced horses into the Americas and indigenous men could not ride them in their tight-fitting long shirts or tunics. Hence the sides were split open and the poncho was born; what we think of as a “traditional” Latin American garment is, in fact, a hybrid form.

Color is one of the most changed elements of Bolivian and other modern native dress. With the innovation of chemically extracted dyes, called aniline, in the mid-19th century, the intensity of colors increased exponentially. European ladies had been craving a stronger purple color, which British chemist William Henry Perkin accidentally discovered in 1856, a chemically derived “mauveine.” His fame and fortune followed and aniline dyes of all colors began to infiltrate the market, a trend that continues to this day.

South America, Bolivia, Departments of Potosí and Chuquisaca, Provinces of Chayanta and Oropeza, Jalq’a, Potolo