More than 100 years ago, those dressed for the Almolonga Carnival did not wear masks, they only blackened their faces and danced to guitar music, in memory of their ancestors brought to work on the farms in the region.
For years the former Hacienda de Almolonga, now in ruins, was the center of economic activity in what are now the municipalities of Naolinco, Actopan and Tepetlán, selling sugar cane and cattle. However, the latter became the most important means of making a living for the inhabitants of the region, hence, as a form of recognition, the bull was the figure chosen for their carnival masks.
It was Manuel Parra, owner of the Hacienda de Almolonga, who introduced the bull mask that all the dancers now wear, made of wood and painted in bright colours.
In the past, only one day a year did workers have the opportunity to organize a small carnival, where they danced, ate and drank, as their ancestors did. Nowadays, every year for four days, men, women and children proudly wear their traditional costume of vibrant colors, boots with bells, a bull mask made of wood with real horns, and a colorful headdress made of paper, feathers and glitter.
At the end of the carnival, after they parade through the streets, a ritual is performed to honor a cow and a bull. During this ritual, costumed participants dance and carry a small wooden cow adorned with bougainvillea flowers, recognizing both animals for the pivotal role they have always played in their economy.
Capture at Festival de Mascaras Danzantes, Coscomatepec
Textual sources: avcnoticias.com.mx
