 Q: I have recently bought this mask on the internet for about 40 USD. I am pretty sure that it is an unused Parachico mask from Chiapas, Mexico. One eyelash is missing. But I wonder about quality and age. I know nothing about Mexican masks. Can you or your visitors maybe estimate the level of quality and tell an approx age, given the style? Thanks, Chris 1382
A: You got this for a very good price. It is new. Most of the Santeros (professional carvers) make additional Parachicos for sale to tourists. Though it could have been made recently, this has been going for over a 100 years. Barbara Mauldin says “The Parachico performance is said to derive from Colonial times when a woman in the village began paying tribute to San Sebastian for miraculously curing her son of a terrible illness, thus the name para chico, (for the boy). If you can find replacement eyelashes at a doll shop, it will increase the value. Carving quality is slightly below average, but it is still a very desirable mask. A-  |
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