There are many origin stories and legends to explain the creation of these beautiful shirts that are distinguished by four pockets and two vertical stripes with pleating or embroidery. One of my favorite stories (with many variations) of its origin is that it was invented around 1896 by the wife of a Cuban farmer. She wanted to make the shirts of her husband more useful for carrying the guavas he had to pick in the fields. So she took his work shirt and stitched 4 pockets to fit his tools and more guavas. In this version, the name of the shirt comes from guayaba, the word for "guava" in Spanish. Overtime it has become a staple in the Caribbean and Latin American culture with its many names: Guayabera (Cuban & Puerto Rico), Guayabel (Haiti) Chacabana (Dominican Republic), Shirt-Jac (Trinidad), Bush Jacket (Jamaica), Camisa de Yucatán (Mexico). No matter the name it is a symbol of culture and heritage used in weddings, funerals, casual wear, and the list goes on.  We wanted to celebrate not only the importance of this shirt but infuse the celebration with salsa and pay homage to the legends Celia Cruz and Hector Lavoe