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Lechón Mask and Costume

TITLE: Lechón Mask and Costume
TYPE: face mask; costume; accessory
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Dominican Republic
SUBREGION: Santiago de los Caballeros
ETHNICITY: Afro-Latino
DESCRIPTION: Flores-type Lechón Carnival mask and costume with whip
CATALOG ID: CADO006
MAKER (Mask and Costume): José “Chevy” Luís Almanzar (Santo Domingo, 1981- )
MAKER (Whip): Fernando Mattheo (Cabral, unknown date of birth)
CEREMONY: Carnival; Dominican Independence Day
AGE: 2022
MAIN MATERIAL (Mask): paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS (Mask): yucca sap; colored paper; silicone adhesive; paint; clear spray enamel; foam rubber; elastic straps; metal snaps
COSTUME MATERIALS: synthetic fabric; stitching; silicone adhesive; metal zipper; Velcro®; plastic rhinestones; mirrors; synthetic fabric and rubber shoes; synthetic gloves
WHIP MATERIALS: wood handle; braided and dyed cayuga fiber

During the Carnival of the Dominican Republic, which actually falls on the Dominican Independence Day rather than the Catholic Mardi Gras, paraders don elaborate masks and costumes to represent devils, monsters, clowns, and other characters.  Different towns have different traditional masks.  In Santiago de los Caballeros, a very large parade involving hundreds of masked marchers takes place every year, prominently featuring characters known as the lechón, or “piglet.”  Notwithstanding their name, they nearly always look like a cross between a duck and a bull. The lechón comes in various forms. The traditional mask is the pepinera, with smooth horns or horns covered in spikes. Other masks include jolla masks, whose horns are covered in spikes; flores masks covered in flowers; and fantasía masks, which can take almost any form. This mask is a flores-type mask.

Lechones carry rope whips and inflated bladders on a rope (formerly goat bladders, but today mostly rubber) that they use to strike audience members, preferably young women, on the buttocks.  The ritual thereby serves the dual function of providing a release for young male testosterone and reminding the audience of the torments awaiting in Hell.

Click here to watch a short documentary on the Carnival of the Dominican Republic.

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Lechón Mask

TITLE: Lechón Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Dominican Republic
SUBREGION: Santiago
ETHNICITY: Afro-Latino
DESCRIPTION: Pepinera-type Lechón Carnival Mask
CATALOG #: CADO005
MAKER: Manuel de Jesús Jiménez (Santiago, 1954- ) & Jovanny de Jesús Jiménez Santos (Santiago, 1979-)
CEREMONY: Carnival; Dominican Independence Day
AGE: 2023
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: yucca sap; paint; clear spray enamel; foam rubber; elastic straps

During the Carnival of the Dominican Republic, which actually falls on the Dominican Independence Day rather than the Catholic Mardi Gras, paraders don elaborate masks and costumes to represent devils, monsters, clowns, and other characters.  Different towns have different traditional masks.  In Santiago de los Caballeros, a very large parade involving hundreds of masked marchers takes place every year, prominently featuring characters known as the lechón, or “piglet.”  Notwithstanding their name, they nearly always look like a cross between a duck and a bull. The lechón comes in various forms. The traditional mask is the pepinera, with smooth horns or horns covered in spikes. Other masks include jolla masks, whose horns are covered in spikes; flores masks covered in flowers; and fantasía masks, which can take almost any form. This mask is a pepinera-type mask.

Lechones carry rope whips and inflated bladders on a rope (formerly goat bladders, but today mostly rubber) that they use to strike audience members, preferably young women, on the buttocks.  The ritual thereby serves the dual function of providing a release for young male testosterone and reminding the audience of the torments awaiting in Hell.

Click here to watch a short documentary on the Carnival of the Dominican Republic.

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Penguin Macarao

TITLE: Diablo Cojuelo Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Dominican Republic
SUBREGION: Bonao
ETHNICITY: Afro-Latino
DESCRIPTION: Macarao for Pinguinos (Penguins) Group
CATALOG ID: CADO001
MAKER: Henry Pasencia Acosta (Bonao, 1980- )
CEREMONY: Carnival; Dominican Independence Day
AGE: 2022
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: yucca sap; paint; foam rubber; elastic straps

During the carnival of the Dominican Republic, which actually falls on the Dominican Independence Day rather than the Catholic Mardi Gras, paraders don elaborate masks and costumes to represent devils, monsters, clowns, and other characters.  Different towns have different traditional masks.  In Bonao, various demons known as macarao dance frantically across from groups of girls.  Macarao come in many forms, although all members of a group tend to where the same mask and costume.

This specific mask is used by the Pinguinos (Penguins) Group. It was worn in 2022 and 2023 Carnival celebrations by Kiosky Hierro Frías (Bonao, 2009- ).

Click here to watch a short documentary on the Carnival of the Dominican Republic.

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Witch Fantasy Mask

TITLE: Witch Fantasy Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Dominican Republic
SUBREGION: Santiago de los Caballeros
ETHNICITY: Afro-Latino
DESCRIPTION: Witch Fantasy-Type Carnival Mask
CATALOG #: CADO008
MAKER: Manuel de Jesús Jiménez (Santiago, 1954- ) & Jovanny de Jesús Jiménez Santos (Santiago, 1979- )
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: 1995
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: yucca sap; paint; polyester hat; plastic bats; stitching; foam rubber; elastic straps

During the Carnival of the Dominican Republic, which actually falls on the Dominican Independence Day rather than the Catholic Mardi Gras, paraders don elaborate masks and costumes to represent devils, monsters, clowns, and other characters.  Different towns have different traditional masks.  In Santiago de los Caballeros, a very large parade involving hundreds of masked marchers takes place every year, prominently featuring characters known as the lechón, or “piglet.”  Notwithstanding their name, they nearly always look like a cross between a duck and a bull. The lechón comes in various forms. The traditional mask is the pepinera, with smooth horns or horns covered in spikes. Other masks include jolla masks, whose horns are covered in spikes; flores masks covered in flowers; and fantasía masks, which can take almost any form. This mask is a fantasía mask.

Lechones carry rope whips and inflated bladders on a rope (formerly goat bladders, but today mostly rubber) that they use to strike audience members, preferably young women, on the buttocks.  The ritual thereby serves the dual function of providing a release for young male testosterone and reminding the audience of the torments awaiting in Hell.

This witch mask was worn by one of its makers, Manuel de Jesús Jiménez, in carnival parades of Santiago for 28 years, from 1995 until 2023.

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Kanaval Devil

TITLE: Kanaval Devil
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Haiti
ETHNICITY: Afro-Haitian
DESCRIPTION: Devil Mask
CATALOG #: CAHT002
MAKER: Michel Sinvil (1949- , Jacmel)
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint

In Haiti, the French-speaking descendants of African slaves celebrate Carnival (Kanaval) with parades and parties. Due to the extreme poverty of the great majority of Haitian people, masks and costumes are mostly handmade from recycled or easily available materials. There are stock characters that appear at most celebrations, such as Chaloska and the horned Lanse Kòds, but participants are free to invent their own costumes.  A few expert artisans create more professional masks, but even these tend to be made of inexpensive materials, such as paper maché or wire mesh.

For more on Haitian Carnival, see Leah Gordon et al., Kanaval: Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the Streets of Haiti (London: Soul Jazz Pub., 2010).

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Vejigante Mask and Costume of Ponce

TITLE: Vejigante Mask and Costume of Ponce
TYPE: face mask; costume
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Puerto Rico
SUBREGION: Ponce
ETHNICITY: Mestizo
DESCRIPTION: Vejigante Mask and Costume in Puerto Rico Flag Colors
MAKER (Mask): Unknown maker in Ponce
MAKER (Costume): Gloria E. Cruz Guevara (Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA / Vieques, Puerto Rico, 1977- )
CATALOG ID (Mask): CAPR002
CATALOG ID (Costume): CAPR001
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE (Mask): 1980s
AGE (Costume): 2021
MAIN MATERIAL (Mask): paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS (Mask): gesso; paint
MATERIALS (Costume): dyed poly poplin cloth; dyed satin polyester cloth; stitching; elastic bands

The Carnival paraders of Ponce, Puerto Rico traditionally use paper maché masks with multiple horns and sharp teeth, accompanied by colorful and frilly costumes, to represent fantastic devils. Most consider that the more horns a mask has, the better.  Formerly, participants carried an inflated goat or cow bladder (vejiga) on a string with which to bop passers-by on the posterior.  This is how the character got its name, vejigante (bladder-carrier). Today, goat bladders are in short supply, and this practice is rare. Vejigantes nonetheless remain an indispensable part of the Ponce Carnival.

A unique feature of the Ponce carnival is that it includes the burial of a giant symbolic sardine, carried by a parader dressed as a friar and another dressed as a hooked sardine.  The sardine symbolizes the Carnival itself, and the burial marks its end.

This specific mask was worn in the parade of Ponce during the 1980s; the costume was specially made for the Museum by a seamstress on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.

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Kanaval Tiger

TITLE: Kanaval Tiger
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Haiti
ETHNICITY: Afro-Haitian
DESCRIPTION: Tiger Mask
CATALOG ID: CAHT001
MAKER: Didier Civile (Jacmel, 1973- )
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: late 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; rubber strap; string

In Haiti, the French-speaking descendants of African slaves celebrate Carnival (Kanaval) with parades and parties. Due to the extreme poverty of the great majority of Haitian people, masks and costumes are mostly handmade from recycled or easily available materials. There are stock characters that appear at most celebrations, such as Chaloska and the horned Lanse Kòds, but participants are free to invent their own costumes.  A few expert artisans, such as the one who made this mask, create more professional masks, but even these tend to be made of inexpensive materials, such as paper maché or wire mesh.

For more on Haitian Carnival, see Leah Gordon et al., Kanaval: Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the Streets of Haiti (London: Soul Jazz Pub., 2010).

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Lechón Mask

TITLE: Lechón Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Dominican Republic
SUBREGION: Santiago
ETHNICITY: Afro-Latino
DESCRIPTION: Pepinera-type Lechón Carnival Mask
CATALOG ID: CADO005
MAKER: Manuel de Jesús Jiménez (Santiago, 1954- ) & Giovanni de Jesús Jiménez Santos (Santiago, 1979-)
CEREMONY: Carnival; Dominican Independence Day
AGE: 2023
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: yucca sap; paint; foam rubber; elastic straps

During the Carnival of the Dominican Republic, which actually falls on the Dominican Independence Day rather than the Catholic Mardi Gras, paraders don elaborate masks and costumes to represent devils, monsters, clowns, and other characters.  Different towns have different traditional masks.  In Santiago de los Caballeros, a very large parade involving hundreds of masked marchers takes place every year, prominently featuring characters known as the lechón, or “piglet.”  Notwithstanding their name, they nearly always look like a cross between a duck and a bull. The lechón comes in various forms. The traditional mask is the pepinera, with smooth horns or horns covered in spikes. Other masks include the jolla, whose horns are covered in spikes; flores masks covered in flowers; and fantasía masks, which can take almost any form. This mask is a pepinera-type mask.

Lechones carry rope whips and inflated bladders on a rope (formerly goat bladders, but today mostly rubber) that they use to strike audience members, preferably young women, on the buttocks.  The ritual thereby serves the dual function of providing a release for young male testosterone and reminding the audience of the torments awaiting in Hell.

Click here to watch a short documentary on the Carnival of the Dominican Republic.

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Diablo Cojuelo Mask and Costume

TITLE: Diablo Cojuelo Mask and Costume
TYPE: face mask; costume; accessory
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Dominican Republic
SUBREGION: La Vega
ETHNICITY: Afro-Latino
DESCRIPTION: Diablo Cojuelo Carnival mask and costume
CATALOG ID: CADO003
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Carnival; Dominican Independence Day
AGE: 2013
MAIN MATERIAL: fiberglass
OTHER MATERIALS: gesso; paint; synthetic hair; metal accessories; glue; glitter; wire mesh; foam rubber padding; elastic straps; plastic rhinestones; plastic ornaments

During the carnival of the Dominican Republic, which actually falls on the Dominican Independence Day rather than the Catholic Mardi Gras, paraders don elaborate masks and costumes to represent devils, monsters, clowns, and other characters.  Different towns have different traditional masks.  In La Vega, a very large parade involving hundreds of masked marchers takes place every year, prominently featuring characters known as the diablo cojuelo, or “tormenting devil.”  These devils carry inflated bladders on a rope (formerly goat bladders, but today mostly rubber) that they use to strike audience members, preferably young women, on the buttocks.  The ritual thereby serves the dual function of providing a release for young male testosterone and reminding the audience of the torments awaiting in Hell.

Traditionally, such masks were made of paper maché, but in modern times they have been increasingly made of fiberglass molded around a sculpted model.  This allows crews of paraders to wear similar masks as a group without the need sculpt each mask individually.  Even so, tremendous work goes into the molding, preparation, painting, and adornment of each mask. Frequently the costumes require months of hand-stitching as well.

Click here to watch a short documentary on the Carnival of the Dominican Republic.

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Vejigante of Loíza Mask

TITLE: Vejigante of Loíza Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Puerto Rico
SUBREGION: Loiza
ETHNICITY: Afro-Latino
DESCRIPTION: Coconut Husk Vejigante Mask
CATALOG ID: CAPR003
MAKER: Wilfredo Vázquez (Loíza)
CEREMONY: Carnival; Fiesta de Santiago el Apostól
AGE: 2008
MAIN MATERIAL: coconut husk
OTHER MATERIALS: wood; paint

Loiza, Puerto Rico, is an enclave of Afro-Latino culture in otherwise mestizo Puerto Rico.  Unlike in other parts of Puerto Rico, masks of Loiza are carved from abundantly available coconut husks rather than paper maché. Like the masqueraders of Ponce on the other side of the island, Loizan masks sport multiple horns and sharp teeth, accompanied by colorful and frilly costumes, to represent fantastic devils.  Formerly, participants carried an inflated goat or cow bladder (vejiga) on a string with which to bop passers-by on the posterior.  This is how the character got its name, vejigante (bladder-carrier). Today, goat bladders are in short supply, and this practice is rare. Vejigantes nonetheless remain an indispensable part of the Loiza Carnival. In addition, the masqueraders appear at the Fiesta de Santiago el Apostól, the patron saint of Spain, whose holiday is celebrated equally in Loiza on July 25th.

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