Malcriá: simply put, malcriada is a word in Spanish that means a female who is rude, who is considered to have not been raised correctly by her parents. As women performing in a patriarchal social system, however, the word malcriá takes on a new meaning. According to their Facebook page, malcriá, then, “is utilized to reference a woman that cannot be silenced and does not conform, that questions the normalization of the gender role she is forced to live out… to be considered malcriá is to be denounced for being an empowered woman.”
Three Malcriás (Taharis, Angelique, and Kiara) at 5 Días con Nuestra Tierra (Photo courtesy of Angelique Rodríguez)
Meeting Las Malcriás
Las Malcriás is a coalition of young female artists that seeks to produce art as well as promote female empowerment. The malcrías are UPRM alumnae: Taharis Irizarry del Toro (25), Kiara Meléndez Cruz (25), Claudia Torres-Guillemard (34) and Angelique Rodríguez Vélez (24). All but Claudia Torres are pictured above. “Claudia is a working mother, so it’s almost impossible for her to participate in the sales aspect of the business,” Angelique explained.
I had a chance to interview Las Malcriás, who graciously took the time to answer my questions even amidst their hectic work week at 5 Días con Nuestra Tierra, where they will be selling their handmade jewelry, ceramic mugs, and other art forms until tomorrow, March 18. You can find their booth on the southwest quadrant of 5 Días, between a booth that makes leather bound agendas and a booth that dreadlocks hair.
We discussed a variety of topics, from what it’s like to be young female entrepreneurs in Puerto Rico to the sexism and harassment they encounter every day.
Photo courtesy of Las Malcriás
1. What drove you to start your business?
We all took classes together during our B.A.’s at the UPRM, and at some point our art projects began to gather attention from the public on an individual scale. However, none of us could find a way to sort of break free from our techniques and try to produce new art forms. Eventually, we began to run into one another and we realized that if we joined forces as artists and women, we could create a source of strength and support for each other. That’s how we ended up creating a coalition of artists, each one with a distinct art form that she brings to the table. Everything became officialized once we became certified as artesans.
Some of the beautiful jewelry made and sold by Las Malcriás (Photo courtesy of Taharis Irizarry)
2. As young women, what difficulties have you encountered?
Patriarchism and sexism, and a lot of it! It is not uncommon for men to harass us at art festivals or whenever we are selling our crafts. We will have men come up to our booths several times and try to engage in conversation with us,” Angelique explained. Kiara added that they’ve also encountered a lot of sexism from other male artists. “One time we were in an art festival and we had to leave early due to a previous engagement. As we began to pack up, two male artists in the booth next to us began to ask us why we were leaving. One of them said that we were leaving because we had to go fry up some tostones.” (insert massive eye roll here)
The malcrías also added that their art has been deemed intimidating by some due to its innovative techniques and that their conflicting schedules have also proved to be a challenge. “Most of the women have other jobs besides creating and selling our art, so it complicates our schedules.
Ceramic mugs and plant holders made by Angelique Rodríguez (Photo courtesy of Heidy Blair Photography)
3. Why did you choose the name Las Malcriás?
We chose the name malcriás because we wanted to appropriate the term and change its meaning. From a negative term used to shame women who are accused of stepping out of line into a rallying cry of female empowerment. If women are not malcriás, society will smother us and silence our voices.
Necklaces made by Taharis Irizarry (Photo courtesy of Las Malcriás)
4. What advice would you give to other young adults that are interested in starting up their own business?
We would advise everyone to not be afraid of being their own boss. All experiences enrich our lives and shape us to become the type of person we eventually grow up to be. In a likely manner, if you have friends or acquaintances that work in a similar field to yours, do not see that as a challenge or as a source of competition. We encourage you to join forces and grow in experiences together! Our collective was born from this dynamic and we never could have imagined the success we have achieved as a result of this coalition.
Three Malcriás (Angelique, Claudia, and Kiara) at 5 Días con Nuestra Tierra (Photo courtesy of Angelique Rodríguez)
5. Is there a certain comment or question that you hear a lot from clients?
A lot of people approach our table and the first thing that comes out of their mouths is, “do you girls make this?!” We often wonder in what context they ask the question (whether or not they ask because they cannot fathom young women creating this art form is unknown). They also praise the variety of the products we offer for sale and they always asks us where we’re from, to which they proudly respond: “we’re from here, from the west side of the island!”
You can visit Las Malcriás every Wednesday at the Plaza Colón in Mayagüez and every Thursday at the Rincón Art Walk from 5:00pm to 10:00pm.
Contact Info
FB: Las Malcrías
IG: lasmalcriaspr
E-mail: lasmalcriaspr@gmail.com
Phone: (787) 426-2044 or (787) 519-5887