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Reina de Jardineros

TITLE: Reina de Jardineros
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Zapotec
DESCRIPTION: Reina (Queen) de Jardineros mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX077
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Danza de Jardineros
AGE: 1970s or 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: cloth covered in beeswax
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; metal o-rings; cotton ribbon

In many parts of Mexico, indigenous populations reenact the Spanish Reconquista, known as the Danza de los Cristianos y los Moros, usually on holidays in honor of the patron saint of the village. In the Zapotec region of Oaxaca, especially San Bartolo Coyotepec, Zaachila, and Santo Tomás Jalieza, this tradition has a unique style and is known as the Dance of the Gardeners. A group formed of a Christian king and queen, a Moorish king and queen, and various princes, princesses, knights and vassals involving an elaborate plot that ends in a machete fight in which the Christians are victorious and force the Muslims to convert to Catholicism. The ceremony is usually performed at the Fiesta de la Virgén de Rosario on the last Sunday of the year, as well as the 2nd and 8th of January. This specific mask represents the Spanish queen.

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Rey de Jardineros

TITLE: Rey de Jardineros
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Zapotec
DESCRIPTION: Rey de Jardineros mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX082
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Danza de Jardineros
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: cloth covered in beeswax
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; metal o-rings; cotton string

In many parts of Mexico, indigenous populations reenact the Spanish Reconquista, known as the Danza de los Cristianos y los Moros, usually on holidays in honor of the patron saint of the village. In the Zapotec region of Oaxaca, especially San Bartolo Coyotepec, Zaachila, and Santo Tomás Jalieza, this tradition has a unique style and is known as the Dance of the Gardeners. A group formed of a Christian king and queen, a Moorish king and queen, and various princes, princesses, knights and vassals involving an elaborate plot that ends in a machete fight in which the Christians are victorious and force the Muslims to convert to Catholicism. The ceremony is usually performed at the Fiesta de la Virgén de Rosario on the last Sunday of the year, as well as the 2nd and 8th of January. This specific mask represents the Spanish king.

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Rey de Jardineros

TITLE: Rey de Jardineros
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Zapotec
DESCRIPTION: Rey de Jardineros
CATALOG ID: LAMX085
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Danza de Jardineros
AGE: late 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: cloth covered in beeswax
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; metal o-rings; cotton string

In many parts of Mexico, indigenous populations reenact the Spanish Reconquista, known as the Danza de los Cristianos y los Moros, usually on holidays in honor of the patron saint of the village. In the Zapotec region of Oaxaca, especially San Bartolo Coyotepec, Zaachila, and Santo Tomás Jalieza, this tradition has a unique style and is known as the Dance of the Gardeners. A group formed of a Christian king and queen, a Moorish king and queen, and various princes, princesses, knights and vassals involving an elaborate plot that ends in a machete fight in which the Christians are victorious and force the Muslims to convert to Catholicism. The ceremony is usually performed at the Fiesta de la Virgén de Rosario on the last Sunday of the year, as well as the 2nd and 8th of January. This specific mask represents the Spanish king.

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Rey de Moros

TITLE: Rey de Moros
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Veracruz
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Rey de Moros (King of the Moors) mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX178
MAKER: Antonio Vázquez Tepo (Xico, 1933-2017)
CEREMONY: Danza de los Moros y Cristianos
AGE: 2016
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint

The Danza de los Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians), also known as the Danza de la Conquista, is an important celebration in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The dance reenacts the reconquest Spain from the Saracens by the European Christians. The dance arose from the teachings of missionaries as part of an effort to instill respect for and fear of the Spaniards in the indigenous peoples, and to convince them that the victory of Christianity over other faiths—by violence whenever necessary—was inevitable.

The dance is still performed widely in Mexico, including in Mexico State, Michoacán, Puebla, and Veracruz. Characters vary depending on locality, although they always include “Christians” or “Spaniards” and Moors. This mask represents the King of the Moors (Rey de Moros), a central character of the drama who directs his troops against the Spaniards and ultimately surrenders.

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Rooster Mask

TITLE: Rooster Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Hidalgo and Veracruz
ETHNICITY: Otomí
DESCRIPTION: Gallo (Rooster) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX034
MAKER: Ciriaco González (?), Carpinteros
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The village of Carpinteros is technically in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, but the town has spread into neighboring Veracruz.  It is inhabited by both mestizos and the indigenous Otomí people.  During Carnival, villagers dance a variety of masks with few limitations, including clowns, devils, viejos (old men), and animals of every kind.

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Rubio Mask

TITLE: Rubio Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Rubio (Blond One) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX080
MAKER: Unknown maker in Santiago de Juxtlahuaca
CEREMONY: Danza de los Rubios (Carnival)
AGE: 1950s-1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint

The Danza de los Rubios (Dance of the Blond Ones), also known as Danza de los Pachecos (Dance of the “Stoners”) is a ceremony performed during the Carnival in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca. The rubio characters dress as charros (cowboys) in  chaps, spurs, sombreros, and dark masks, and carry leather whips. They are said to represent the native country folk who become drunk on aguardiente after a hard day’s work herding cattle. They dance with elaborately dressed women (sometimes masked, sometimes not) to the chilena music of violins and the jarana, a small guitar-like instrument, and periodically comment on difficulties of the cattle drive. The dance probably dates back a century or more. Characters include El Caporal (the leader), the Caporal‘s wife (María Cotita), the Caporal‘s mistress (María Lencha), and various cowboys, named Alvarado, El Rubio, Margarito (also known as the Chile Verde), and Pachequito. In addition, one or more rubios wearing a large leather bull figure over his head and shoulders, representing a troublesome toro (bull), appears to illustrate the rigors of the cattle drive, as the charros struggle to control the cattle. The masks are frequently disfigured to represent the drunkenness of the characters. This specific mask may represent any of the rubios or the Caporal himself.

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Santiago Mask

TITLE: Santiago Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Veracruz
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Santiago (Saint) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX158
MAKER: Lino Mora Rivera (Naolinco de Victoria, 1956- )
CEREMONY: Fiesta de San Mateo (Danza de los Pilatos)
AGE: 2017
MAIN MATERIAL: equimite wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; lacquer; string

The Danza de los Pilatos, also called La Danza de los Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians), is an important celebration in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The dance reenacts the reconquest Spain from the Saracens by the European Christians. The dance arose from the teachings of missionaries as part of an effort to instill respect for and fear of the Spaniards in the indigenous peoples, and to convince them that the victory of Christianity over other faiths—by violence whenever necessary—was inevitable.

The dance is still performed widely in Mexico, including in Mexico State, Michoacán, Puebla, and Veracruz. Characters vary depending on locality, although they always include “Christians” or “Spaniards” and Moors. In Naolinco, Veracruz, the dance is performed on the holiday of the town patron saint, St. Matthew (Fiesta de San Mateo), celebrated on Sept. 20-21 every year.  There, Moors take many forms, including devils, pirates, clowns, or, as here, skeletons. This mask represents a santiago, also called a santiaguero, who is a warrior-disciple of St. James. The santiagos fight the Moors with wooden swords and small shields.

For more on masks from Veracruz, see Bryan J. Stevens, Mexican Masks and Puppets: Master Carvers of the Sierra de Puebla (Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Pub’g, 2012).


A brief video with highlights of the Danza de los Moros y Cristianos from Naolinco’s 2018 Fiesta de San Mateo.

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Señor de Naranja

TITLE: Señor de Naranja Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Michoacán
ETHNICITY: Purépecha
DESCRIPTION: Señor de Naranja (Lord of Naranja)
CATALOG ID: LAMX071
MAKER: Victoriano Salgado Morales (1920-2012, Uruapan)
CEREMONY: Danza del Señor de Naranja
AGE: 1980
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: plaster; tin; maque paint; brass bells; polyester ribbons; steel hardware

The Señor de Naranja (Lord of Naranja) is an historical figure of the country of Zacapu, Michoacán. “Naranja” means orange in Spanish, but the term in this context is actually a corruption of the Purépecha “Naranxan,” the name of a region where the town Naranja de Tapia is now located. The character apparently represents the historical cacique or chief of the region, Ziranzirancámaro, around 1200 CE, and the dance retells the history of the Purépecha settlement of Michoacán.

According to the legend, a tribe of Purépecha people called the “Eagles” arrived in the mountains and demanded that the Señor de Naranja bring them incense and wood to burn on the altar of their fire god, Curicaveri. Over the opposition of his people, the Señor sent the offerings, as well as his sister to wed the leader of the Eagles (Ireticatame) and bear him a son, Sicuirancha, who eventually conquered Naranxan and Cumachen. The dance commemorates these events.

This mask was made by the renowned Victoriano Salgado, who was awarded the Michoacán State Eréndira Prize for the Arts in 2012, the year of his death.

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Seri (Comcaac) Mask

TITLE: Seri (Comcaac) Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Sonora
ETHNICITY: Seri (Comcáac)
DESCRIPTION: Striped shamanic mask with bones
CATALOG ID: LAMX121
MAKER: Unknown maker in Bahia de Kino
CEREMONY: Shamanic Rituals
FUNCTION: healing (?)
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; animal bones; adhesive; string

The Seri people of Sonora, Mexico call themselves Comcáac. They live primarily on Shark Island (Isla Tiburón) in the Gulf of California, and the adjacent mainland of Sonora (Punta Chueca and El Desemboque). Despite invasive Spanish colonialism and periodic Mexican assimilation movements, they have maintained their traditions even today. Traditionally, they lived as preliterate hunter-gatherer bands of fifty individuals or fewer, with no tribal organization. They primarily engage in commercial fishing today.

Like many indigenous groups in the region, the Seri engaged in face painting and had shamans who played important roles in healing the sick and protecting the people. Very little is known of their masking traditions, but they were reported by R.W.H. Hardy in the early nineteenth century to have worn deer and mountain lion masks on some occasions, and to have carved wooden masks.  This specific mask may have been made by a shaman for use in healing the sick, and would have been worn with a fringe of ixtle fiber.

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Seven Deadly Sins Mask

TITLE: Seven Deadly Sins Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Colima
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Rabia (Anger) Seven Deadly Sins Diablo (Devil) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX014
MAKER: Unknown maker in Suchitlán
CEREMONY: Pastorela
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: bull horns; paint; iron nails

The Pastorela is the ceremonial dance drama in many parts of Mexico, including the small western state of Colima. Pastorelas, performed at Christmas, are primarily religious in significance. The main characters of the Dance of the Shepherds are the Devil and his minions, the Archangel Michael, shepherds, and a hermit (who paradoxically represents the ancestors of the performers).  The drama revolves around the attempts of Lucifer and his demon minions to steal the baby Jesus.  This mask represents one of the devils representing the seven deadly sins, specifically Anger (La Rabia).

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