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Tigre Mask

TITLE: Tigre Mask
TYPE: hood mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Guerrero
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Tigre (Jaguar) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX016
MAKER: Unknown maker in Olinalá
CEREMONY: Baile de los Tlacololeros
AGE: late 2000s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: boar hair; paint; boar tusks; leather tongue

The Baile de los Tlacololeros is one of the oldest folk dances of Guerrero, Mexico and predates colonization. It is performed at most major religious events, such as Easter, Day of the Holy Cross (May 3), patron saint days, and Christmas Eve. The dance represents the efforts of corn farmers to stop the depredations of a jaguar on their livestock.  A tlacololero is a farmer of the rugged, mountainous slopes of Guerrero.  The main characters are the farmers and their tracker, the perra maravilla (“wonder bitch,” the dog that helps hunt the jaguar), the farm animals, and a tigre (actually, a jaguar) such as this one.  Generally, eight to fourteen tlacololeros participate, dancing to the music of flute and drums, while the perra maravilla helps hunt and captures the jaguar.  The farmers then beat the jaguar with chirriones (braided whips) to teach it a lesson, stopping short of killing it. Unfortunately, the whipping sometimes leads to the violent expression of regional rivalries, resulting in serious injuries to the participants.  To protect themselves, the dancers wear leather chaps, blanket breeches, huaraches and thick sacks of ixtle on layers of huastle grass.

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Parachico Mask

TITLE: Parachico Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Chiapas
ETHNICITY: Mayan
DESCRIPTION: Parachico Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX005
MAKER: Unknown maker in Chiapa de Corzo
CEREMONY: Fiesta de San Sebastián
AGE: 2012
MAIN MATERIAL: cedar wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil paint; glass eyes; lacquer

The Baile de los Parachicos is unique to Chiapas, the southernmost region of Mexico, and is most commonly performed in Chiapa de Corzo and Suchiapa.  It may have pre-Columbian origins, but its modern version is believed to originate in the myth of a wealthy Spanish noblewoman whose sick child could not be cured by doctors in Guatemala. She eventually brought him north to Chiapas, and a Mayan priest recommended she bathe in the healing waters of Cumbujuyú for nine days.  After the child recovered, the woman held a feast of thanksgiving and her servants danced for the children. Hence the name, parachico, meaning “for the little boy.”  In modern times, the parade is held during the holiday of St. Sebastian, the patron saint of Chiapa de Corzo.

The dance begins with a parade of the parachicos through the streets led by a patrón, or boss, whose mask is somewhat more elaborate than usual. All parachicos wear black pants with colorful embroidered designs, white shirt, a bright sarape, black leather boots, and they carry a tin rattle (sonaja).  As they parade, they echo phrases shouted by the leader, such as:

“¡Vivan los que ya no pueden, muchachos!” (“Long live those who can’t do it any longer, boys!” or “Long live the elders!”)

“¡Viva el gusto de nosotros, muchachos!” (“Long live our shared tastes, boys!” or “Long live our traditions!”)

“¡Viva la mano poderosa, muchachos!” (“Long live the powerful hand, boys!” or “Long live God’s will!”)

“¡Viva la pandilla rica, muchachos!” (“Long live the rich gang, boys!” or “Long live the parachicos!”)

They may also shout out more or less improvised verses, devout or comical, such as “Little mermaid, little mermaid, sea mermaid, Praise the Holy One and señor St. Sebastián” or “Passing by your window, you threw me a lemon, the lemon hit my face, and went straight to my heart.”

They then perform a group dance to the sound of drums and marimba, guitar, or other instruments. Women in brightly colored floral dresses may accompany them in less formal dances.

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Catrín (Huehue) Mask

TITLE: Catrín (Huehue) Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Tlaxcala
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Catrín (Dandy) or Huehue (Elder) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX143
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: 1960s-1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; glass eyes; cattle hair eyelashes; metal hardware; cotton string

Carnival in Tlaxcala, Mexico has traditions quite different from those in other parts of the country.  The men dress in formal suits, gloves, and top hats, with extremely realistic and handsome Caucasian-type masks, and in some towns carry umbrellas through the streets as parasols.  The catrín, or dandy, is a figure of ridicule dating back to colonization, when elaborately dressed Spaniards flaunted their wealth to the oppressed indigenous peoples. When wearing a beard, they are sometimes called huehues, meaning “village elders.” The catrín is the indigenous revenge, possible because the masks and costumes made it difficult to identify the culprits.  Frequently the masks have gold teeth and beauty marks, like this one, and include an ingenious spring mechanism attached to a string, which allows the masquerader to blink the dandy’s eyes by pulling on the string.  Glass eyes were imported into Tlaxcala for mask-making around 1960. They may dance with men dressed as girls, real girls, or together in a parade format.

This catrín may also have served as a huehue del torito, one of several bullfighters who wear the outfit of a cowboy (charro) and mock battle a leather or paper maché bull fitted with fireworks and carried on the “bull’s” shoulders. Recently, the tradition of wearing such masks has given way to the wearing of mass-produced lucha libre (Mexican wrestler) masks in San Miguel Tenancingo and elsewhere.

Hand-made masks of this age were delicately carved and hand-painted by master craftsmen in multiple layers.  Today’s masks are airbrushed and rarely include mechanical eyelids.



A brief documentary about Carnival in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico.

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Tejerones Bull Mask

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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Viejito Mask

TITLE: Viejito Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Michoacan
ETHNICITY: Purépecha
DESCRIPTION: Viejito (Little Old Man) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX063
MAKER: Manuel Horta Ramos (Tocuaro)
CEREMONY: Danza de los Viejitos
AGE: 2015
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: plaster; maque; plant fiber

The Danza de los Viejitos is one of the oldest ceremonies in the Purépecha regions of Michoacán. In it, four dancers dressed as old men, with white suits, a colorful sarape, beribboned straw hat, wooden clogs, and a wooden cane, dance to the music of violins, clarinets, and guitars. The purpose of the dance is to pray for a good harvest. Normally, four dancers appear, representing the four primordial elements (earth, fire, water, and air) and the four colors of maize (yellow, red, blue, white). Masks may be made of wood, paste, or terra cotta.

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Guro Gu Mami Wata

TITLE: Guro Gu Mami Wata
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire
ETHNICITY: Guro
DESCRIPTION: Mami Wata (Gu) Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCI006
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Celebration; Entertainment; Funeral
AGE: ca. 1970s-1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Guro gu mask represents a beautiful young woman. It forms part of the trio of sacred masks with the zamble and zaouli. In the past, gu was the wife of zamble, but in modern rituals she is represented as the wife of zaouli, and therefore zamble‘s mother. All three masks are cult objects to which sacrifices are periodically made to bring prosperity to the family that owns them and to drive away evil spirits.  They are danced for celebrations and as entertainment, and also at funerals and to honor ancestors. The gu represents a divinity, but her dance careens about, stamping her feet incessantly. She wears bells on her ankles to accentuate her foot movements and dances to the music of a few flutes.

The Mami Wata represented here is a water goddess important to many northwest African cultures. She is sometimes represented by a mermaid but is nearly always surrounded by snakes, as here.

For more on Guro masking traditions, see Eberhard Fischer, Guro (Prestel, 2008) or Anne-Marie Bouttiaux, Guro (5 Continents Editions, 2016).

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Tarahumara Chaperon Mask

TITLE: Tarahumara Chaperon Mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Chihuahua
ETHNICITY: Tarahumara
DESCRIPTION: Chaperon Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX013
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Danza de los Matachines; Pascola; Agriculture; Healing; Funeral
AGE: early 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: goat leather and hair; iron nails

The Tarahumara are the largest indigenous ethnic group in Chihuahua, Mexico. Among their rituals are the Dance of the Matachines, in which dancers invoke spirits to ensure a good harvest. The dance is performed by a eight to twelve couples to the music of violins, guitars, and flutes. Chaperones, the only masked characters, mark the rhythm by yelling and also ensure all the dancers wear the right garments.

Such masks may also be used in pascola dances celebrating religious holidays, such as the Feast of the Epiphany (January) or Holy Week (February or March). Masked dances may also be used to pray for rain or heal, the sick, or at funerals.

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Saqra Mask

TITLE: Saqra Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Peru
SUBREGION: Paucartambo
ETHNICITY: Quechua; Aymara
DESCRIPTION: Saqra (devil) mask with frog
CATALOG ID: LAPE027
MAKER: Unknown maker in Paucartambo
CEREMONY: Danza Saqra (Kuwallada)
AGE: ca. 1970s-1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: plaster; paint; string

The city of Paucartambo, Peru, celebrates the Festival of the Virgin of Carmen (Mamacha Carmen) annually on July 16th. The Festival begins by the carrying of an image of the Virgin Mary through the streets to the church. Among the festivities that follow is the Kuwallada, a festival involving numerous masked characters in elaborate costumes. One component of Kuwallada is the Danza Saqra.  The term saqra is Quechua for “wicked” or “devil” and represents tricksters dressed as animals or devils.  They are not really “evil,” but merely mischievous.

The saqra troupe has a fairly complex organization, with a leader (caporal), two captains (capitánes), a female saqra (china saqra), soldiers, “pets” (mascotas), clowns known as maitas or qhapac qollas, who wear the waq’ollo mask, and the carguyoc, who is an organizer who accompanies (and provides beer for) the musicians.


Click above to watch a short documentary on Corpus Christi in Cusco, Peru.

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Yaqui Pasko’ola Mask

TITLE: Yaqui Pasko’ola Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Sonora
ETHNICITY: Yaqui
DESCRIPTION: Black Mañor mask with scorpion motif
CATALOG ID: LAMX127
MAKER: Ruben Hernández (Vicam)
CEREMONY: Pasko’ola
FUNCTION: celebration; entertainment; funeral; protection
AGE: early 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: cottonwood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; string; horse hair

The Yaqui and related Mayo people inhabit the desert in the Mexican state of Sonora and southern Arizona. Their religious beliefs are a syncretic version of traditional animist practices and Jesuitical Catholicism. The pasko’olas (in the Spanish, pascolas) were malignant spirits, or children of the Devil, whom God won in a game. For that reason, their masks frequently have crucifixes and they wear a belt with twelve bells, each representing an apostle. To symbolize their evil origins, the masks have ugly expressions and vermin such as lizards, snakes and scorpions painted on them. In addition, dancers wear cords and butterfly cocoons on their legs, representing snakes and their rattles. They also wear a flower on their head, to symbolize rebirth and spring. They frequently play the role of clowns, provoking laughter in the audience by mimicking animals, reversing gender roles, organizing mock hunts, and making jokes.

Pasko’olas are danced at every major religious festival, as well as at birthdays, weddings, and funeral celebrations. For example, in Vicam, pasko’olas have traditionally danced on Día de San Juan Bautista (June 24). Sometimes a group of pasko’olas will be accompanied by a deer dancer, who dances with a taxidermy deer head as a crest. Generally, only men are pasko’ola dancers, but women have sometimes been allowed to dance with the permission of the male dancers.

This specific mask was carved by Ruben Hernández of Vicam, Sonora and used for 10 years by Reyno García of Pitaya.

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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: 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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