Artisans From Palmares Receive National Award For Intangible Cultural Heritage

Palmares is a canton recognized for the manufacture of furniture, one of the most important economic activities in the area for more than six decades. This trajectory was recognized by the Heritage Center of the Ministry of Culture and Youth, which awarded the Emilia Prieto 2021 National Prize for Intangible Cultural Heritage to the Association of Furniture Craftsmen and Painters of Palmares (Armupa).

The furniture makers of the area since 1995 formed an organization and opened a store at the entrance of the canton, where they sold, in addition to their creations, fabrics, foams and wood.

Nine years later -after the disintegration of the organization, Armupa was formed, who now dream of a permanent exhibition space. “In Palmares there are many furniture stores, but there are more workshops that have nowhere to display the furniture and the association became a window for all those people who have their product in the workshop at home and who have no way to rent a place,” explained Johan Rodríguez, president of the group.

Currently the furniture they make is in the premises they rented since June 2020; However, Rodríguez commented that they do not know if they will renew the contract, but that they are looking for other options.

“We have made arrangements with the municipal mayor’s office and with institutions such as the National Training Institute (INA), with whom we have an agreement to set up an upholstery and cabinetmaking workshop next to the showroom, to have here even the part of training and technical training”, detailed the president of Armupa.

Guinness World Record

These artisans broke the record for the largest armchair in the world in 2008, during the Furniture Fair. The Guinness World Records thus recognized the creation that measured eight meters high, eight meters wide and seven meters deep.