Epifania Gil
María Epifania del Carmen Gil Dávila (April 7, 1914 – May 18, 2000), better known as Epifania Gil, was a Venezuelan weaver and the partner of architect and polymath Juan Félix Sánchez.
Biography
She learned the art of spinning raw wool from her mother, Isaína Dávila, and later taught this craft to Juan Félix.[1] After the death of Juan Félix's mother, they moved to the Valle del Tisure in 1943, where they built a stone chapel.[1] In San Rafael de Mucuchíes, they spent their final years,[2] where together they built another stone chapel.[1] In 1982, President Luis Herrera Campíns declared Sánchez's work national heritage.[3] Epifania died in 2000 and is now buried alongside Sánchez in the stone Chapel of San Rafael de Mucuchíes.[2][1]
Epifania has been the subject of university research at institutions such as the University of the Andes, due to her multidimensional role as a promoter and defender of the traditional cultural values of the páramo region.[1] In 1999, the "Juan Félix Sánchez y Epifania Gil" Public Library was established in San Rafael de Mucuchíes.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Pérez Apóstol, Maximiliano (2026-05-20). "In Memoriam a María Epifanía del Carmen Gil Dávila #20May". El Impulso (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- 1 2 González Rujano, Daniela Carolina; Pérez Salas, Yoanlly Alejandra; Salcedo Mosquera, José Antonio (2010). "Diseño de reportajes interpretativos sobre el legado cultural de Juan Félix Sánchez en el estado Mérida: Definición" (PDF). Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín (in Spanish).
- ↑ González Rujano, Daniela Carolina; Pérez Salas, Yoanlly Alejandra; Salcedo Mosquera, José Antonio. "Diseño de reportajes interpretativos sobre el legado cultural de Juan Félix Sánchez en el estado Mérida: Culminación" (PDF). Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín (in Spanish).
- ↑ "Juan Félix Sánchez, el arquitecto del Páramo". Aleteia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-06-30.