TITLE: Mixtec Marialencha Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Marialencha Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX181
MAKER: Luís Morales Ortíz, San Miguel Tlacotepec (1974- )
CEREMONY: Danza de los Rubios
AGE: 2021
MAIN MATERIAL: avocado wood
OTHER MATERIALS: plastic eyes; adhesive; false eyelashes; acrylic paint

The Danza de los Rubios (Dance of the Blond Ones) is performed by the Mixtec people of Juxtlahuaca district on patron saint holidays, such the Festival of St. James (Fiesta de Santiago el Apostól) in Santiago Juxtlahuaca in late July. The dance is performed in pairs to the music a violin and guitar and tells a story of cow herders (vaqueros) and their women, who dance in a double line. The male mask, the rubio, was probably originally intended to mock the Spaniards, with their blue eyes, mustaches, and squint at the harsh Mexican sun. Over time, the fun of ridiculing the disappearing Spaniards must have paled, and the characters came to represent the indigenous cow herders and their wives (called marialenchas). The marialencha wears a linen skirt, petticoat, a fancy shawl (rebozo), scarves, a wide-brimmed sombrero, and huaraches (leather sandals worn by native Mexicans).

Normally, masks of this region are made of sabino wood (Mexican cypress), but other woods (such as avocado, in this case) may substitute when the sabino is unavailable.

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TITLE: Chilolo Pilato Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Pilato Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX084
MAKER: Luís Morales Ortíz, San Miguel Tlacotepec (1974- )
CEREMONY: Carnival (Danza de los Chilolos)
AGE: 2021
MAIN MATERIAL: avocado wood
OTHER MATERIALS: acrylic paint

The Danza de los Chilolos is performed by the Mixtec people of Juxtlahuaca district and surrounding towns during Carnival or on special occasions, such as the inauguration of a church. The word “chilolo” is a Spanish version of the Mixtec term Lolo Nchicaa, meaning Ritual of the Jaguar. As the name suggests, this dance originates before the Spanish invasion and is one of the oldest still danced in Oaxaca.

It is based on a legend of a great chief of Yosocuia who had amassed a large fortune, but who decided the leave the village in the care of his sons. He went to Tututepec, married a noblewoman, and started a new family, but he longed for his old kingdom. His wife wished him to remain and, on the advice of a priest, sought the help of a mystical creature, the Nahual. The Nahual transformed itself into a jaguar and slaughtered all the cattle of the chief’s sons, so that when he arrived back in Yosocuia, he saw nothing but poverty. He decides to hunt the jaguar, taking with him his best guerreros del sol (Warriors of the Sun), also called Pilatos, who wear this mask. The chief is represented by a character known as Santiaguito.

The Danza de los Chilolos is accompanied by a small orchestra of a Mixtec small, square drum and stick (tamborcito) made from goat hide, and a simple reed flute. The chilolos perform choreographed steps, wearing elaborate costumes and colorful feathered crowns made of wood and adorned with mirrors. They wear bells on their boots that shake as they dance, and carry a sword in one hand and a flag in the other. Much of the symbolism of the dance relates to Catholicism, because Spanish missionaries did not tolerate pre-Christian traditions and compelled the Mixtecs to corrupt their culture with Catholic doctrines.

Normally, masks of this region are made of sabino wood (Mexican cypress), but other woods (such as avocado, in this case) may substitute when the sabino is unavailable.

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TITLE: Mixtec Rubio Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Rubio (Blond One) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX088
MAKER: Luís Morales Ortíz, San Miguel Tlacotepec (1974- )
CEREMONY: Danza de los Rubios
AGE: 2021
MAIN MATERIAL: avocado wood
OTHER MATERIALS: plastic eyes; adhesive; false eyelashes; acrylic paint

The Danza de los Rubios (Dance of the Blond Ones) is performed by the Mixtec people of Juxtlahuaca district on patron saint holidays, such the Festival of St. James (Fiesta de Santiago el Apostól) in Santiago Juxtlahuaca in late July. The dance is performed in pairs to the music a violin and guitar and tells a story of cow herders (vaqueros) and their women, who dance in a double line. The male mask, the rubio, was probably originally intended to mock the Spaniards, with their blue eyes, mustaches, and squint at the harsh Mexican sun. Over time, the fun of ridiculing the disappearing Spaniards must have paled, and the characters came to represent the indigenous cow herders and their wives (called marialenchas).

Normally, masks of this region are made of sabino wood (Mexican cypress), but other woods (such as avocado, in this case) may substitute when the sabino is unavailable.

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TITLE: The Devil Inside Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Mask of a Devil Regurgitating Another Devil
CATALOG ID: LAMX089
MAKER: Luís Morales Ortíz, San Miguel Tlacotepec (1974- )
CEREMONY: Danza de los Diablos
AGE: 2021
MAIN MATERIAL: avocado wood
OTHER MATERIALS: goat horns; metal screws; adhesive; plastic eyes; false eyelashes; acrylic paint

The Danza de los Diablos (Dance of the Devils) is performed by the Mixtec people of Juxtlahuaca district on patron saint holidays, such the Festival of St. James (Fiesta de Santiago el Apostól) in Santiago Juxtlahuaca in late July. The dance involves a group of devils (no specific number) in coats and ties, with chivarras (goatskin chaps) and carrying whips, dancing in a group to the music of drums and trumpets.  Unlike other masked dances of the district, such as the Danza de los Rubios, which is performed in pairs to the music a violin and guitar and tells a story of cowboys and their women, or the Danza de los Chareos, which tells the story of the battle of the Catholics and Moors for the reconquest of Spain, the Dance of the Devils tells no story and there are no specific dance steps.  Every dancer capers and jumps according to his own style.

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TITLE: Devil-Catrina Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Diablesa-Catrina (Half Female Devil, Half Sugar Skull) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX086
MAKER: Luís Morales Ortíz (San Miguel Tlacotepec, 1974- )
CEREMONY: Danza de los Diablos
AGE: 2020
MAIN MATERIAL: avocado wood
OTHER MATERIALS: goat horns; metal screws; adhesive; plastic eyes; false eyelashes; acrylic paint

The Danza de los Diablos (Dance of the Devils) is performed by the Mixtec people of Juxtlahuaca district on patron saint holidays, such the Festival of St. James (Fiesta de Santiago el Apostól) in Santiago Juxtlahuaca in late July. The dance involves a group of devils (no specific number) in coats and ties, with chivarras (goatskin chaps) and carrying whips, dancing in a group to the music of drums and trumpets.  Unlike other masked dances of the district, such as the Danza de los Rubios, which is performed in pairs to the music a violin and guitar and tells a story of cowboys and their women, or the Danza de los Chareos, which tells the story of the battle of the Catholics and Moors for the reconquest of Spain, the Dance of the Devils tells no story and there are no specific dance steps.  Every dancer capers and jumps according to his own style.

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TITLE: Devil Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Diablo (Devil) Mask
MAKER: Luís Morales Ortíz (San Miguel Tlacotepec, 1974- )
CATALOG ID: LAMX087
CEREMONY: Danza de los Diablos
AGE: 2020
MAIN MATERIAL: avocado wood
OTHER MATERIALS: deer antlers; metal screws; adhesive; plastic eyes; false eyelashes; acrylic paint

The Danza de los Diablos (Dance of the Devils) is performed by the Mixtec people of Juxtlahuaca district on patron saint holidays, such the Festival of St. James (Fiesta de Santiago el Apostól) in Santiago Juxtlahuaca in late July. The dance involves a group of devils (no specific number) in coats and ties, with chivarras (goatskin chaps) and carrying whips, dancing in a group to the music of drums and trumpets.  Unlike other masked dances of the district, such as the Danza de los Rubios, which is performed in pairs to the music a violin and guitar and tells a story of cowboys and their women, or the Danza de los Chareos, which tells the story of the battle of the Catholics and Moors for the reconquest of Spain, the Dance of the Devils tells no story and there are no specific dance steps.  Every dancer capers and jumps according to his own style.

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TITLE: Jaguar Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Puebla
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Tecuan (Jaguar) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX104
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Danza de los Tecuanes
AGE: 1960s-1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; boar teeth; cotton straps

In parts of Puebla, the Mixtec people celebrate the Danza de los Tecuanes (Dance of the Man-Eaters) in the summer, a dance-drama similar to one celebrated in parts of Guerrero as well. In Puebla, the drama is sometimes known as La Muerte del Tigre (Death of the Jaguar), and tells the story of farmers, sometimes called elders (viejos), who band together to hunt a jaguar that has been killing their domestic goats. The performance is danced to the traditional music of flutes and drums.

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

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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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TITLE: Tejerones Bull Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Toro (Bull) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX079
MAKER: José “Ché” Luna López (Huazolotitlán, Pinotepa Nacional, 1931-2022)
CEREMONY: Danza de los Tejorones
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: red cedar wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; bull horns; hardware

The Danza de los Tejorones originates in the resentment felt by the Mixtec people at the political and economic domination of the Spaniards and mestizos. The tejorones characters wear poorly fitting suits and Caucasian-type masks with a feather headdress, and carry rattles in one hand a handkerchief, machete, or gun in the other. It begins with music as the tejorones characters line up in two files opposite one another, with the sole female character, Maria Candelaria, at one end. They dance in an intricate pattern and periodically shout while animals such as the tigre (jaguar), dog, cow, or donkey, surround them and act out their roles. The behavior of the tejorones is offensive to the crowd, with insults shouted and sexual taboos violated, but the crowd must endure it patiently.

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TITLE: Negrito Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Negrito (Little Black Man) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX078
MAKER: María Pinah Gaston (Santa María Huazolotitlán)
CEREMONY: Danza de los Tejorones
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; dyed cotton string

The Danza de los Tejorones is a group dance drama performed in various towns in Oaxaca at Carnival and a few other major holidays. All dancers wear masks and elaborate costumes, and many different characters are represented, including animals, Maria Candelaria (the female Tejorón), the Negritos (little blacks), devils, Viejos (old men), and Feos (uglies).

Tiny negrito masks such as this one were worn over a handkerchief wrapped around the entire head to cover it.  The effect is to give the impression of a tiny face on a large head.  It is not clear why the masks are made so small.

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