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Tlacolorero Rastero

TITLE: Tlacolorero Rastrero
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Guerrero
ETHNICITY: Nahua & Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Rastrero (Tracker) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX017
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Danza de los Tlacoloreros
AGE: ca. 1960
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; plant fiber; steel nails

The Danza de los Tlacoloreros tells the story of farmers who banded together to hunt jaguars committing depredations on their livestock. Its origin was the precolonial dance in honor of the Aztec god Tláloc, praying for rain for a good harvest.  It is commonly danced in Guerrero.

The Rastrero is the peasant who acts as tracker of the jaguars.  This mask was used for many years and periodically, though inexpertly, repainted as old coats wore off, with new plant fibers attached as beard and mustache over time.

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Payaso Mask

TITLE: Payaso Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Puebla
ETHNICITY: Nahua & Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Payaso (Clown) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX097
MAKER: Francisco de Aquino (Xochitlán, 1928-2003)
CEREMONY: Carnival; Danza de los Huehues
AGE: 1994
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; cotton string

Payaso (clown) masks are very popular throughout Latin America. They are commonly worn at Carnival and also during important religious holidays. In Puebla, clowns are regular characters in the Danza de los Huehues.

Huehue means village elder.  The Danza de los Huehues predates the Spanish conquest and is believed to have begun around Day of the Dead, when village elders helped the widows to find shelter after their husbands died in battle.  Some believe the dance originated in Tlaxcala or Huasteca and spread to Puebla.  The Devil is a character added by way of Catholic influence; he is charged with harassing the dancers and audience during the performance.  The dance is typically held in late June, in honor of a patron saint.

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Tejerones Donkey Mask

TITLE: Tejerones Donkey Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Burro (donkey) mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX090
MAKER: José “Ché” Luna López (Huazolotitlán, Pinotepa Nacional, 1931-2022)
CEREMONY: Danza de los Tejorones
AGE: 1975
MAIN MATERIAL: red cedar wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

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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Negrito Mask

TITLE: Negrito Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Negrito (Little Black Man) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX081
MAKER: Unknown maker in Pinotepa Nacional
CEREMONY: Danza de los Tejorones
AGE: 1960s-1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint

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). This mask probably came from the small town of Pinotepa Nacional.

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Female Huehue

TITLE: Female Huehue
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Puebla
ETHNICITY: Nahua & Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Female Huehue (Elder) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX094
MAKER: Magno León (Huetlalpan, 1914-1977)
CEREMONY: Danza de los Huehues
AGE: ca. 1950
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; elastic bands

Huehue means village elder.  The Danza de los Huehues predates the Spanish conquest and is believed to have begun around Day of the Dead, when village elders helped the widows to find shelter after their husbands died in battle.  Some believe the dance originated in Tlaxcala or Huasteca and spread to Puebla.  The Devil is a character added by way of Catholic influence; he is charged with harassing the dancers and audience during the performance.

Most huehue masks are male, but some female huehues such as this one are danced as well.  The dance is typically held in late June, in honor of a patron saint.

This mask was carved by a master sculptor and used for many years. One former owner so prized the mask that he painted his initials, J.L.L., on the inside.

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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