Don your best guayabera May 14 for Gator Guayabera Guateque

Author: Unknown Publication Date: Friday May 06, 2011

It is the height of Caribbean coolness. Carefully pin-tucked pleats. Four big patch pockets. Light and airy, able to dress up or down.

The guayabera (gwy-ah-BEAR-ah) shirt may have been invented in Cuba as long as 200 years ago. Legend suggests a housewife designed the first guayabera to be cool, comfortable and practical while working in the guava groves. Others copied the style, and in the generations since the loose-hanging shirt has become a major part of Cuban culture.

Today it is also the signature garment of the Gator Guayabera Guateque, a celebration of shared heritage and Gatordom that takes place each spring in South Florida. Sponsored by UF’s Association of Hispanic Alumni, the event brings together alumni for music and dancing while also raising scholarship money for the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures.

So go ahead, pull your guayabera out of the closet and come down to Miami on May 14 for a weekend of fun. You’ll fit right in.

RSVP for Gator Guayabera Guateque on May 14
Learn more about the Association of Hispanic Alumni