TITLE: Viejo Carnival Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Mexico State
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Viejo (Old Man) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX051
MAKER: Unknown maker (possibly Delfino Castillo Alonso) in Santa María Astahuacán
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: early 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wax
OTHER MATERIALS: dyed cloth; synthetic hair; yarn; thread; paint
In a few villages in Estado de México (Mexico State), Carnival masqueraders wear masks representing viejos (distinguished old men) or charros (country gentlemen) made of wax formed over a solid mold, meticulously painted, and threaded with decorated facial hair. They typically wear elaborately decorated suits and sombreros resembling the mariachi outfit, and dance with (unmasked) ladies wearing their finest dresses and hats to traditional music of guitars, trumpets, and drums.
