Tepoztlan, Morelos

9 inches, painted window screen, ixtle fiber, cloth edging

Chinelos wear wire-screen masks with large, elaborately decorated hats and long velvet gowns at the Carnival celebration. Despite the heavy costume, they leap around the plaza for hours at a time while hundreds of people watch the spectacle. Although the origins for this performance are unclear, it probably relates to similar leaping displays by Carnival masqueraders in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain still performed today. In Europe the leaping is associated with spring planting, with the height of the jumps symbolizing the tallness of the crops for the coming season. Unused.