Dance with the devil

in art •  6 years ago 

Following the conquest of Mesoamerica, the Spanish attempted to eradicate indigenous dance as part of their imposition of Catholicism. When it proved impossible to extinguish, evangelisers instead altered the dances to include Christian symbolism and themes. Remnants of these syncretic dance forms still exist throughout Mexico in places such as Felipe Horta’s workshop in Tócuaro, a small village in the state of Michoacán. For more than 30 years, Horta has been crafting colourful, menacing devil masks and costumes for nativity plays. Horta’s painted wood masks and hand-sewn sequin suits are designed to evoke the eternal fight between good and evil by transforming their wearers into dragon-like ‘demons and devils’. Through his art, Horta seeks to assure that the nativity plays endure as a piece of the region’s living traditions, not merely historic folklore. This film is part of the Mexican director Mariano Rentería Garnica’s short documentary series on artisans in the western state of Michoacán.
images.jpeg

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

I’m using Partiko to make friends and have fun on the Steem blockchain. You should as well! Here’s my invite link: https://partiko.app/referral/guruvaj, you will get 3000 Partiko Points for sign up bonus, and you can exchange them into Steem token!

Posted using Partiko iOS