Rosa Elena recieivng the People's Hall of Fame Award from City Lore in 2002 in honor of her tireless work to promote mundillo in New York City.

On September 19, 2003, 16 artists received the annual National Heritage Fellowship Award, the highest honor for folk artists in the United States, from the National Endowment for the Arts at a special ceremony in Washington, DC. Among the 2003 Fellows was our CARTS Guest Artist, Rosa Elena Egipciaco, a Puerto Rican bobbin lacemaker (tejedora), who lives in New York City.

In Puerto Rico, the art of encaje de bolillos (bobbin lace) is called mundillo. This art comes from the towns of Moca, Isabela, and Aguadilla in the northwest region of the island. Moca, the hometown of Rosa Elena, is considered la cuna (the cradle) of mundillo becuase for generations women there have produced designed, promoted, and sold bobbin lace.

Designed for K-12 classroom teachers, this online Guest Residency feature introduces Rosa Elena; shares her process of becoming a master tejedora; offers geographic and historical information about Puerto Rico and the movement of Puerto Rican people to mainland U.S.; explains the social context in which mundillo is created in New York City; and offers a history of lacemaking and curriculum activities.