Rita Nazareno shares her current endeavor to support incarcerated Black women through hand-woven bags for The North Star Project.
This is an excerpt from Lifestyle Asia’s March 2023 Issue.
All over the world, bringing light on women empowerment has become apparent as a paramount global movement that continues to gain momentum. Celebrations such as International Women’s Month and Empowerment Day have emerged and are breaking more and more ground in recent years.
But even with considerable progress promoting women’s sense of self-worth, the ability to stand up and determine their own choices or the right for meaningful change, women continue to bear the challenges of facing discrimination and seeking equality.
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For Rita Nazareno, an Emmy Award-winning television producer and breast cancer survivor, taking on a brave road to celebrate tremendous efforts of women and girls around the world to illustrate their creative capacities in shaping a better world, is inherent. This is through her brainchild, ZACARIAS 1925, a global bag and accessories brand that combines contemporary design and the traditional time-honored craft of hand-weaving. Being the granddaughter of the founder of S.C. Vizcarra, she is a product of family ties and passion.
Nazareno’s grandmother, Segundina Cornejo Vizcarra, set up shop in 1925, a time when female entrepreneurs were a rarity. From humble beginnings, she and her husband, the sculptor Zacarias Alimangan, established their hand-embroidery studio, S.C. Vizcarra. This is the inspiration for ZACARIAS 1925.
Nazareno’s illustrious career has allowed her to experience many wondrous adventures in life. “I’m so fortunate. I’d be satisfied with how my life turned out if I died tomorrow. But there are many more paths to take,” she says.
After being a successful TV producer in the US, working as creative services director of the NBC-affiliate in Houston and senior producer at Fox 11 in Los Angeles, she received stellar recognition for her amazing work, allowing her to take home The Emmy for a short promo Good Day in L.A. in 2005. For many, this is the Everest of success but for Nazareno, her definition of it takes her back to what she grew up with – the love and joy of working with fine craftsmen and artisans.
“I’d also love to see our workshop transformed as a space that continues to be an homage to my grandmother, the work she has started and that my mother has nurtured. And also for people to take in how the pieces are made, to appreciate the history and its future, and share their collections and archives,” Nazareno passionately exclaims.
For her, experiencing all these would be educational and beneficial to many. It would be a dream and the timing is
impeccable as S.C.Vizcarra’s 100th year approaches in 2025.
Very recently, The North Star Project collaboration with the Crenshaw Dairy Mart Gallery, and Patrisse Cullors, has put
Nazareno’s women empowerment plight into clearer perspective. These are hued, hand-woven lines of bags that focus on the movement to free Black women from incarceration.
The new, aesthetic line, featuring the inspiring poem ‘Carrying Freedom’ from previously incarcerated Black literary Nissi Berry, aims to support women in a way the system has not. Profits from each bag sold go directly to the movement to end the incarceration of Black women and put money back into the pockets of previously incarcerated Black female artists.
“I am so fortunate and thankful to be a part of this collaboration. It is truly an amazing experience to be able to
do my part and focus on incarcerated Black women. It is a conversation that needs to be talked about more and as part of the Filipino and Filipino-American communities, it is important for me to express this dialogue.”
Read more by purchasing a copy of the Lifestyle Asia March 2023 magazine via SariSari.shopping or select newsstands in National Bookstore and Fully Booked. Subscribe to the E-Magazine via Readly, Magzter, and Press Reader.
Photos by Chris Sumida
Shot on location at TheKounsil Workshop, Los Angeles
