TITLE: Cúrpite Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Michoacan
ETHNICITY: Purépecha
DESCRIPTION: Cúrpite Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX059
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Danza de los Cúrpites
FUNCTION: courtship; celebration; entertainment
AGE: 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint
The Danza de los Cúrpites is one of the oldest ceremonies in the Purépecha regions of Michoacán. The dance is performed primarily in the town of San Juan Parangaricutiro once annually, in January. Participants wear masks representing handsome young men with black mustaches or beards, and wear elaborate costumes and hats with tinsel, sequins, ribbons, mirrors, and beads. The dance is performed almost entirely by young men under 20, who dance in front of the homes of their sweethearts to woo them. The other characters, an older man (called tarépiti) and older woman (Maringuilla or Maringuía), attend as chaperones.
