Antonio Betancor: "It is a pride that I earn a living as the women in my family did"

"My aunt went to work, left me the rosette fabric, I sat down to make them and then she corrected everything I had done during the afternoon," he explains

Eider Pascual

Journalist

February 24 2024 (11:52 WET)
Updated in February 26 2024 (11:11 WET)
The artisan Antonio Betancor with one of his designs
The artisan Antonio Betancor with one of his designs

Antonio Betancor from Lanzarote can boast of having achieved something unique at the age of 25. The Madrid Fashion Week this 2024 has given him the opportunity to see his designs on the most famous catwalk in Spain. A young artisan who is beginning to expand in the Canary Islands, in the Peninsula and even abroad, in countries such as Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Japan and Italy.

With the help of a well-known Madrid designer, Juan Duyos, the young man has traveled to the capital and has been able to enjoy one of the most important events for the world of fashion. Being able to get close to Ifema and experience the presentation of his work live has been a dream come true. Being in contact with the public and feeling the impressions of the result of years of dedication has left him with a very good taste in his mouth. "Duyos called me and invited me to the show, a proposition I couldn't say no to," he tells La Voz.

His impressions during the show were very gratifying. He recalls that those present reacted very positively to the 'Canary Islands' collection, which ended up surprising the spectators. "They were amazed that I made the rosettes, they thought someone older had done it," the young man revealed. A situation that still amazes the craftsman. "I can't believe I've gotten this far," he confesses.

The dresses worn by the models for the collection are full of rosettes, with different characteristics that make each garment unique. "They have approximately 150 rosettes and they are all different," says the craftsman. In the case of one of the skirts, light and metallic colors predominate. "An organza skirt was designed with nude pink tones and silver rosettes and a gold-colored overdress," he adds about the details of the clothing.

Family tradition with a very personal touch

Sitting on the sofa at his home in Haría, Antonio Betancor from Lanzarote learned to design rosettes at the age of 11, a family tradition that passed from generation to generation, specifically, he belongs to the fourth generation to dedicate himself to it. "It is a pride that the work done by the women in my family is the way I earn a living," he acknowledges.

It was his grandmother who instilled in him the passion for this type of craftsmanship. “I have the influence of my family, my grandmother and my aunt who were the ones who instilled it in me,” he revealed to the newspaper. Having prior education, he was able to improve the technique in a self-taught way. "I have been improving the techniques they gave me with self-training," he reveals.

His family encouraged him to dedicate himself to training in crafts born in the Canary Islands. "My aunt went to work, left me the rosette fabric, I sat down to make them and then she corrected everything I had done during the afternoon”, he adds.

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The young man following the family tradition

He affirms that since he was little he believes he has a special talent for making rosettes. "I think I have a gift." A phrase that some of the ladies who dedicate themselves to the same profession have repeated to him. "Many of the ladies who have been working on it for a long time tell me that," he says.

His family has expressed their excitement at seeing him fulfill some of his main dreams. "It is a pride for them to see that I continue with the tradition," he says. His aunt cannot believe how far he has come in his profession. "She tells me: I never thought you could go so far with rosettes," he adds in his family's words.

Daring to give rosettes a different treatment

He has known how to give the business another approach since he became self-employed three years ago. "I wanted to be more ambitious and apply them to clothing," in order to "attract more attention," he points out. He did not want to remain anchored in a past in which they were made for home fashion. "In the past, rosettes were used for tablecloths, fabric for cushions, bedspreads, dressing table sets." Expanding his market has also been his main reason for success.

It is not the only essential part that makes his work different from the rest. He dedicates himself to starting and finishing the entire process from beginning to end. "I do everything, the metal pique, the cushion, I design the rosette, I make them and I join them," he says enthusiastically. And he remembers how he started and everything he has achieved. "I started making the piques with oil cans, but I decided to go further, and not focus only on the rosette."

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