Aaron has added several Boruca masks to his wonderful collection. This one looks like a capuchin monkey and is quite unusual. If you are unfamiliar with his website, you should check it out. TITLE: Boruca Diablo-Mono GENERAL REGION: Latin America COUNTRY: Costa Rica SUBREGION: Reserva Rey Curré, Puntarenas ETHNICITY: Boruca DESCRIPTION: Diablo-Mono (Devil-Monkey) Mask MAKER: Hermes Morales, Rey Curré CEREMONY: Fiesta de los Diablitos AGE: 2009 MAIN MATERIAL: balsa wood OTHER MATERIALS: red pigment from achiote berry; black pigment from wood ash; white pigment from kaolin clay The Boruca people mostly inhabit two reservations in the Puntarenas Province of Costa Rica. Technically, many persons classified as Boruca are members of…

Besides being known as a beautiful, colonial beach side town, Jacmel is one of the leading producers of papier-mâché in all of Haiti. In fact, this dazzling town of about 40,000 residents is famous for its arts and has dozens of studios and shops where papier-mâché is made, sold and celebrated especially during Haiti’s Carnival, which is pre-Lenten and was introduced to the African slaves who worked in cane fields and sugar factories many years ago. Now would be a good time to visit Jacmel.  Bob,1287  B+  

I just found this photo of three papier mache masks which are worn by Puerto Rican marchers at carnival time. They are decorated differently and obviously made by the same guy. You can see more typical Vejigantes by going to the Caribbean Category on this site. I live in downtown Lancaster, PA, which has a large population of Puerto Ricans living within walking distance of me, but these three masks were photographed on the island… a great place for masquerade.  1205

With the exception of a few other Caribbean islands, this spectacular type of Devil mask is unique in the world of mask design. Even though these masks have a long snout and lots of big horns, they are made of paper mache which is light weight and comfortable to wear. Vejigantes characters carry blown-up cow bladders with which they make sounds and hit people throughout the processions. The crazy antics of these guys make them the most popular feature at the parades and other events. The Carnaval de Ponce is an annual celebration that lasts one week and ends on the day before Ash Wednesday. Thus, it is generally held…

Q:  I have a mask from Panama which a think is a Diablo Carnival mask which was purchased at the market in Valle de Anton about 4 years ago.  I would like to have it appraised and possibly sell it. Thank you,  Linda, 1075 A: There are several towns in Panama where fabulous masks, mostly Devils, are paraded at Carnival. They are made by talented artists who work with papier mache and colorful paint. There was always a strong Caribbean influence on these masks as your can see by going to our archives or Google. But this one seems to be more like an Austrian Krampus. I guess the old…

Our new book, Masks of the World, is divided into 14 categories of masks. In chapters on Africa, India & Himalayas, East Asia, etc. you can easily picture the area we’re dealing with. Our Caribbean chapter covers a lot more territory than the name implies. I have found that masquerade of the Northern edge of South America and some of Central America is strongly influenced by the Caribbean. And why not? These large areas surrounding the sea are heavily populated by the same African/Spanish/Indian cultures as the islands. This wild and crazy mask is from Portobelo, Panama, which is located on the east shoreline facing the Caribbean Sea.  Bob, 1071…

Q:  Apologies for attaching incorrect photos. Here are jpegs of the the front, back and side of the mask. Please tell me whatever you can about this beautiful mask. Thank you.  Marcey, 1047 A:  Vejigantes are from Ponce, Puero Rico, and are among the most creative masks used for carnival parades around the world. This one was done by Miguel Caraballo. A larger one is shown on post #745. The Vejigante represents the evil Moors who battled St. James in Spain hundreds of years ago. Its design and colors are more African than European, which demonstrates the influence of blacks in the Caribbean.  A- Save

The Carnival occurs every weekend in February in the town of La Vega.  The Dominican carnivals are supposed to be the first ones celebrated in the New World (even predating the more famous ones in New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro). La Vega is the third biggest city in the Dominican Republic with a long history dating back to the time of Christopher Columbus.  The first Dominican Carnival goes back to the 16th century.  The Spanish would let their slaves have some fun for a day.  The Spanish, however, were very religious and needed the festival to have some sort of religious significance so it became a battle of good…

This is a Vejigante mask made out of a whole coconut husk in the city of Loiza, PR. (The nut has been removed from these large masks.) Many of the people who live there are of Nigerian decent. So the style of these masks is mostly influenced by the Chango warriors of West Africa, rather than the Catholic Church. There are Vegigante masks made in Ponce, PR, for the same celebration of St. James, but are made out of papier mache and look much different. This will go in the Caribbean category, which is the smallest on MasksoftheWorld.com. This category includes all of the islands plus the northern coastal areas…

Q: This is a very large mask, made from paper. It has horse teeth and screens where the eye holes are. I think it is Mexican, but do not know where in Mexico it was made. I would like to find out more information about this mask. I do not remember where I bought it. I usually haunt thrift shops and flea markets. Mickey, 852