Drivers of the city center’s new electric (horseless) calandrias have received uniforms designed by students from the fashion faculty of the University of Guadalajara’s Centro Universitario de Arte, Arquitectura y Diseño (CUAAD).
The formal but elegant outfits comprise a shirt, waistcoat, pants and jacket in a light beige color. All the items of clothing, apart from the shirts, are fashioned from cashmere, and include hand-crafted details, such as silk lapels and interior pockets.
The uniforms were given out at a ceremony presided over by UdG Rector Ernesto Flores Gallo and Noelia Agulló Oreja, coordinator of the university’s fashion department. The drivers each contributed 800 pesos toward their uniforms.
More than 90 students submitted ideas for the designs after meeting with calandria drivers and discussing their needs. The drivers chose the final design.
Calandria leader Pedro Aguilar said the freshness of the materials and comfortable fit were important factors in selecting the design. He noted that the uniforms will add an air of seriousness and professionalism to the drivers’ labors.
Although the uniforms were originally created exclusively for drivers of the new electric carriages, the choferes of the horse-drawn units that are still plying the streets of the city center may also use them, Aguilar said. These calandrias are set to be phased out in the near future and replaced by the remainder of the new models.
However, calandria drivers who have yet to sign the agreement to make the switch over to the horseless units believe there is a chance that the incoming Guadalajara municipal administration will have a change of heart and allow them to continue working with the horse-drawn carriages.
That may be wishful thinking, since the new mayor will be Ismael del Toro of the Citizens Movement, the same party as previous presidente municipal, Enrique Alfaro, who emerged as the victor in the Jalisco governor’s race on Sunday. Alfaro initiated the move to phase out the horse-drawn carriages in response to the demand of animal activists who said the animals were treated cruelly.