Pedro Páramo is based on Juan Rulfo’s book of the same title, which is one of the most important novels in Mexican culture. The story follows a man who searches for his father, Pedro Páramo, in a town doomed by violence and the fury of a frustrated love.
Costume design plays a crucial part in setting the tone of the film, and No Film School had a chance to sit down with Anna Terrazas, the costume designer on the film.
For the film, Anna worked with local artisans to design and hand-make over 1000 pieces of clothing, from blouses, shirts, and hats to sandals and underwear, to ensure everything characters wore was period-appropriate.
In our conversation, Terrazas shared insights into establishing color pallets for different characters, hiding clues in clothes, and a tremendous amount of research she and her team did for the project.
Let’s dive in.
Editor’s Note: the following interview is edited for length and clarity.
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No Film School: Pedro Paramo is such an influential book, how did you first approach it? What was the research process?
Anna Terrazas: I was first approached by Stacy Perskie, the Mexican producer of the movie, about working on it. I was very excited to be part of this iconic film that represents Mexican culture. Everyone reads it at school, so it was really intimidating to approach something so well-known in our culture. The book describes so much about us, that everyone has their own interpretation and loves different aspects of it. I am really grateful that I got to be a part of Rodrigo Prieto’s interpretation of the story. He put together an incredible team of creatives, and I am grateful I got to be a part of it.
In terms of research, we looked at all books we could find pre and post-revolution. There is also an amazing photographer, Romualdo Garcia, who used to photograph dead people fully dressed in their nicest clothes in that time period. It sounds strange, but since our characters are also dead, it made sense to look at them. We also took a lot of inspiration from Juan Rulfo’s photography. We also shared all this research between departments, which was incredibly helpful.
We also had to research how even the most everyday clothes were made, like skirts and blouses, as many items were made slightly differently at that time period, and we wanted to make sure we kept the movie period accurate.
NFS: Colors are such an important part of the story, how did you approach creating a color palette for the film?
Terrazas: As I said earlier, all the old photographs we found were black and white, so it was on us to create our own color palette. For me, Mexico is a very colorful country, but you need to control that color and make sure colors serve the story best. So, together with Rodrigo and the production designer, we created a color palette for each character. For Pedro Paramo, we started with lighter browns and transitioned to darker shades of brown. Susana has a connection with water, so we leaned into light turquoise and more toward dark blue towards the end.
It was also important to us to create two color palettes for the film as a whole. When Pedro is younger, everything is light and vivid, and the more the film progresses, the darker, heavier, and dustier everything gets throughout the film.
‘Pedro Páramo’Netflix
NFS: The film included over 1000 pieces of hand-made clothing, can you talk about the logistics of designing and manufacturing them?
Terrazas: It was a lot more than a 1000. At the beginning, it was a huge logistical task. We needed to figure out how we would design and make all of them, but also how to organize them in our space. I worked with my own team, and then we outsourced some of the work to incredible artisans all over Mexico. It was crucial to work with local artisans to ensure everything was made period accurate. Then, once we made items or received them from local artisans and seamstresses, we would divide them into different levels of distress they needed to be in. For example, if we wanted the character to wear the same outfit in different scenes with different levels of distress, we needed to make two of the same outfits and distress fabric on each one to a different level. There were two people who were just in charge of moving the clothes.
NFS: Can you talk a little about your collaboration with local artisans?
Terrazas: Two years ago, we went to a festival in Mexico City called Original that brings artisans from all over the country to showcase their work. So, we were able to meet all those artisans in person. The person who made serapes for the film is from Tlaxcala. He is wonderful, and his work is marvelous. It’s actually an interesting story, too, because his family didn’t believe him that we ordered serapes from his for the film, as local artisans rarely get orders for so many pieces. So he asked us to come and visit his family as he couldn’t complete the order without their help. So we went to visit his family. It was really beautiful to see their workshop. He did gabanes for all the main characters, and he dyed them with natural dyes. Actually, I got to see them yesterday, and it was an incredible experience. They are really excited to now see the film on a big screen.
It was also important to build trust and bonds with those local artisans. For sandals, it was really hard to find someone who was willing to make them the way they were done back in the day. Three artisans told us no, and then we found someone who was willing to give it a try. It took us a couple of tries, but we did it, and the artisan we worked with was so happy to get the opportunity to try some of the techniques that are no longer used.
Also, we decided that the rebozos that Damiana wears would go from light to dark orange. The artisan had to do it with thread and dyes. He worked so hard to make the transition between shades seamless, but now he makes and sells them the way.
‘Pedro Páramo’via Netflix
NFS: Your designs are very detailed and apparently you included references to how the characters died. Can you talk a little bit about that and the process of finding the right ways to introduce these details?
Terrazas: Clothing back then had beautiful details, and we wanted to bring that idea to clothes for every character. For example, Eduviges has a skirt where all of the buttons are hand-embroidered. We found a photo of a similar design and then had to learn how to achieve it.
We also had this idea of showing how characters died in very subtle ways. For example, Damiana had a little bit of a darker spot on the right side of her belly where she gets stubbed. Eduviges had this red embroidery on her blouse because it was implied she drowned in her own blood. I would say we just really wanted to make sure that the characters were also embodied in the clothing the actors wore.
‘Pedro Páramo’via Netflix
NFS: Do you have any piece of clothing that was your favorite? Or maybe a character that was your favorite to dress on the project?
Terrazas: Every piece was my favorite. My team and I hand-made designed every piece, and it’s so special to be a part of a project where we can do that. There is one special scene at the wedding where Fulgor is wearing a green suit with a green hat. It had beautiful details, and when I saw it on screen, I fell in love with it.
NFS: What advice would you give to someone who wants to work as a costume designer?
Terrazas: I would say to always keep learning and do extensive research. Remember to never take anything for granted. Each day, we need to be open to listen and learn from the team we work with. Making a movie is such a collaborative experience with many people who often become your family. Therefore, it’s important to learn how to work together seamlessly.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
