Aspect No. 1 - El Pensamiento.

To start thr journey through Perdida, we begin at the origin, with deep purposeful thinking.

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In the Kaggaba’s creation story (also known as the Kogi/Kogui, today’s descendants of the Tairona, a Pre-Hispanic culture and peoples of Colombia from the region of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in present-day Cesar, Magdalena.) it implies that before the material world came into existence, everything was created in Seyn Zare, the place where Though and Memory live. In the transparent dark space of thought, is El Pensamiento.

El Pensamiento is our starting point, the point of origin and creation where all else grows from - all other Aspects, ideas, words, all visuals.

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El Pensamiento is manifested by the following future relics -

• La Manta Negra - A 9ft long wool blanket with alternating black + grey staples and a 32in fringe trim at both ends.

• V Shorts en Negro - A black staple embellished pair of linen shorts with fringe detailing.

• El Bolso Negro - A black linen baguette clutch with black, grey, and silver staple detailing, and a 32in fringe trim.

• Camiseta Gris - A double layered jersey tank top with a crotch drape detail.

Aspect No. 2 - El del Monte.

Within the world of Perdida the inhabitants are know as Los Tumbaga, El del Monte is one of the Tumbagas that hails from the Silvered Sector.

Expanding on the concept of A Él Mismo’s alternative timeline, one where peoples and cultures in what is now known as Latino America had flourished if Spanish Colonization hadn’t occurred, there would have been a natural exchange of cultures, cross influences, blending of cultures, evolutions of practices, traditions, and philosophies of so many Pre-Hispanic cultures.

In the spirit of that concept, El del Monte drew inspiration from the ruins of Monte Albán, one of the earliest cities in Mesoamerica, a region that flourished over 1000 years before Spanish Colonization just outside of present day Oaxaca.

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El del Monte is manifested by the following future relics -

• El Saco de Monte Albán - A black + silver staple embellished cropped jacket with an internal carrying strap.

• El Chaleco de Monte Albán - A black + silver staple embellished elongated vest.

• Camiseta Gris - A double layered jersey tank top with a crotch drape.

• Los Pantalones de Seyn Zare - A black staple blocked linen drop-crotch trouser.

Aspect No. 3- El Plateado.

The Quimbaya, a culture of ancient Colombia that inhabited areas around the valley of the Cauca River are noted for having developed a metallurgy system to combine silver + copper with gold that wasn’t abundant in their region, this combination of silver, copper, and gold is called tumbaga. (an alloy that was widely used by Pre-Hispanic cultures of Central + South America).

Considering the equation of the Pre-Hispanic metal & incorporating it to A El Mismo & the world building of Perdida, the inhabitants or peoples of this fictional world are called Los Tumbaga.

Broken into 2 tribes, Los Plateados (the silver) & Los Cobreados (the copper), the real life components that make up the Pre-Hispanic gold alloy, it became the base for the narrative division & roles of the colors in building A El Mismo; black, rust, silver, & gold.

What we get is Black being the point of creation, where everything is born: Seyn Zare. Rust and Silver being the peoples of the world, Los Tumbaga, & the Gold pieces are the divine and spiritual.

El Plateado is manifested by the following future relics -

• El Saco de Plata - a silver staple embellished wool coat with metal and seed bead detailing.

• - La Camisa Negra - a black and grey staple embellished linen tank top with fringe detailing.

• - Los Pantalones de Plata - a fully silver staples linen drop crotch trousers.

Aspect No.4 - El Cobreado.

Here we are introduced to one of Los Tumbagas of the Coppered Sector of Perdida, the fictional world of A El Mismo.

For the world building of this project, my goal is to incorporate as much real world references in an effort to expand the possibilities of what could have been within this purposed fictional timeline, & use it as an opportunity to present what I’ve learned in my research in a contemporary way, while being mindful & considerate as I build a fantasy world fueled by a history of colonization.

I pulled the name for this fictional world, Perdida from the archeological site of the ancient city in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of Colombia, La Ciudad Perdida (the “Lost City”)
Ciudad Perdida is believed to have been founded in 800 CE, which would predate the Inca citadel, Machu Picchu.
It was originally inhabited by the Tairona, one of the two main peoples & cultures I’ve researched for this project.
I thought the name Perdida (Lost) was fitting as A El Mismo is based on the concept of a stolen ancestral future, something lost to us.

El Cobreado is manifested by the following future relics -

• El Chaleco Cobreado - a copper staple embellished v-neck tank top.

• V-short de Cobre - a copper staple embellished pair of linen shorts with fringe detailing.

• Cartera de Cobre - a elongated copper staple embellished clutch measuring just under a yard, with copper tube & bead fringe detailing.

Aspect No. 5 - El Quimbaya.

Here we are introduced to another Tumbaga from the Coppered Sector of Perdida.

El Quimbaya is named after the Quimbaya, a Pre-Hispanic culture of Colombia who inhabited the Cauca River.
They were a people known for the technical accuracy & high level of detail in their metal work.

El Quimbaya is manifested by the following future relics -

• El Saco de Cobre - a copper staple embellished jacket with elongated sleeves, an internal carrying strap, and external pockets.

• Camiseta Negra - a double layered jersey tank top with a crotch drape.

• Los Pantalones de Cobre - a fully copper stapled linen drop crotch trousers.

Aspect No. 6 - El Guardián.

Here we are introduced to another Tumbaga from the Coppered Sector of Perdida, El Guardián.
While his point of inspiration stemmed from research of the Quimbaya & the tumbaga alloy, this Aspect is an intersecting point of various references.

Like Aspect No. 2, El del Monte, this Aspect contains pieces that incorporate two colors of staples. The copper mixed with black, calling back to Seyn Zare. The place where Thought & Memory live, where everything was created.

El Guardián. is manifested by the following future relics -

• El Saco de Cobre y Negro- a copper & black staple embellished oversized linen jacket with an internal carrying strap.

• El Chaleco de Cobre y Negro - a copper & black staple embellished linen vest.

• Camiseta en color Cobre - a double layered jersey tank top with a crotch drape.

• Los Pantalones Anchos- a wide leg draped high waisted trouser in cotton shirting with a built-in wrap belt featuring a fringe trim.

Aspect No. 7 - El Gran Tumbaga.

Here we are introduced to the last Tumbaga from the Coppered Sector of Perdida, El Gran Tumbaga.
His point of inspiration continues from research of the Quimbaya & the tumbaga alloy.

In the fictional world of Perdida, this Aspect represents the ruler of the Coppered Sector.

As our encounter with the Tumbagas, the human residents within Perdida comes to an end, we brace ourselves to learn more about their beliefs and cosmology with our next few enoutners.

El Guardián. is manifested by the following future relics -

• La Gran Túnica de Cobre - a copper boarder staple embellished oversized linen jacket with a 5 yard long copper staple and finge embellished belt, and an internal fringe embellished carrying starp.

• Camiseta en color Cobre - a cropped double layered jersey tank top with a crotch drape.

• Los Pantalones Ancho - a wide leg draped high waisted trousers in cotton shirting.

Aspect No. 8 - El Serpiente.

Aside from pulling from my own lived experience & my families’ immigration to the United States from Colombia, a portion of this project’s visual language was pulled from the Muisca & what I learned of their cosmology. The way they viewed their connection to nature, materials, creating & its process really resonated with me & mirrored my own spiritual views.


El Serpiente is the first of 4 golden stapled Aspects which represent Los Divinos, the divine, or personification of deities in the world of Perdida, which explore & reference the divine & cosmology of various Pre-Hispanic cultures.

El Serpiente is manifested by the following future relics -

• El Chaleco del Serpiente - a gold boarder staple embellished elongated linen vest.

• Los Pantalones Anchos en Bronce - a wide leg draped high waisted trousers in viscose.

Aspect No. 9 - El Regresó.

In the cosmology of the Muisca, there exists the creation Goddess Bachué, the “GrandMother.”
The principal of creation, the will, the thought, and the imagination of all things to come.

According to Muisca legend, humankind was originated in Lake Iguaque, when the Mother Goddess Bachué emerged with a child in her arms. When the child grew, together, they populated the earth. Once finished, they returned to the lake and disappeared in the shape of two snakes.

The Aspect shown here,the second of Los Divinos, is a small tribute and reference to the Mother Goddess & the creation story.

El Serpiente is manifested by the following future relics -

• El Mantel de Bachué - a gold boarder staple embellished wool poncho depicting two serpents.

• Camiseta Marrón - a double layered jersey tank top with a crotch drape.

• V-shorts en dorado - a gold staple embellished pair of linen shorts with gold ribbon detailing.

Aspect No. 10 - El Iluminado.

While a majority of the pieces I have researched & referenced in the building of this project is pulled from the Muisca, another Pre-Hispanic culture from Colombia that has played a role in this project’s development is the Tairona, & their living descendants, the Kogi.

An indigenous group that resides in the Sierra Nevada, they base their lifestyles on a belief in "Aluna" or "The Great Mother," their creator figure, who they believe is the force behind nature. The Kogi understand the Earth to be a living being, & see humanity as its "children." They say that our actions of exploitation, devastation, & plundering for resources is weakening "The Great Mother" and leading to our destruction.

El Iluminado is manifested by the following future relics -

• La Tunica de Oro - A gold boarder staple embellished tank top that unfolds to become a fully gold stapled tunic.

• Los Pantalones de Oro - gold staple blocked linen drop crotch trousers.

• Cartera de Oro - an elongated gold staple embellished clutch with a viscose carrying sash.

Aspect No. 11 - El Dorado.

Gold was valued not as coinage, but as a luminous source of power, a symbol of eternity, the conduit for the energy of the Sun.

“El oro se extrae de la tierra, se transforma, se usa, se hace símbolo y vuelve a la tierra como ofrenda.”

If you’ve noticed, the gold stapled Aspects, Los Divinos have all been set into browns & other earth-tone fabrics. This is meant to echo the Muisca belief & practice that the gold was mined, worked, formed, and then offered back to the earth, much like what was practiced for the ritual of el dorado.

El Dorado is manifested by the following future relics -

• El Abrigo Dorado - a long gold staple embellished linen over coat with an internal carrying strap.

• El Saco Dorado - a gold staple embellished linen jacket.

• Camiseta Marrón - A double layered jersey tank top with a crotch drape.

• Los Pantalones Anchos - A wide leg draped high waisted trousers in honey viscose