Indigenous Masks and Mexican Stereotypes

We found a jewel of a place today!. W visited Casa de la Cuesta which is a bed and breakfast that also is home to a large collection of masks from all over Mexico. What started as a gift of one mask has turned into a collection of over 500 masks from villages all over Mexico. The collection has grown so large that they have taken over a whole new building for their collection. Descriptions of the masks in English and Spanish were so helpful in understanding the purpose of each mask and how it was (or is) used.

Masks are part of every festival here in Mexico and are an integral part of the culture for many people living here. Indigenous tribes first created masks and later the Spanish conquerors used masks to further Christianity. Masks were created for many reasons:

• Religious: Usually these masks were done to honor the gods. There is a god for absolutely everything here. Examples: corn, pineapple, coffee, peanut...you name it.
• Agricultural: Masks were created to pray to a god to bring rain, a good harvest, better weather, etc.
• Morality: Masks were a way to portray good triumphing over evil. 
• Cultural: Masks were used to pass on to generations the history and events that were important to a culture.
• Entertainment: Of course, some masks are for the pure fun of it all.

What struck me in going through this museum was how a mask can change a person completely. When you cover your face and your eyes, masks can completely transform you. There is something fascinating and terrifying when looking at a masked person. When people don a mask suddenly they are free to act and be different than they were without a mask. This reminds me of things like the Ku Klux Klan that cover themselves completely...would these people be able to commit such atrocities without being "anonymous"? Anyway, the masks were intriguing to me, as well as a bit creepy. I did NOT purchase one of these masks for my houses!

It is interesting though that the Spanish conquerors created many edicts forbidding indigenous people to use the masks in their dances. They believed the masks were perpetuating the indigenous way of life (which they were) and they were deemed such a negative factor that people were whipped and imprisoned if they donned one. Isn't it so typical of the invaders to want to eradicate the way of life of the people they were invading? Native Americans and indigenous people everywhere. So sad.

On a lighter note, after a tour of the gallery the owner then discussed other art forms that are created in Mexico. She was so informative about the different parts of Mexico and what their traditional art forms are. Many places have intricate embroidery, others create wonderful paintings from natural dyes, then you have the woven pieces on looms that you or I would never know how to use. Incredible beauty made from almost nothing.

Mexico has so much to offer. I also learned that Spanish isn't the "official" language; the country actually doesn't have one. In fact, Mexico has so many languages (over 50) that it has more languages than China and just slightly fewer than India. I find this amazing. In many villages in Mexico, all the forms and official state documents are in the native language and people don't even know Spanish. Fascinating! We hear such negative press about Mexico. We hear about the drug cartels and the poverty and danger in the border towns. However, Mexico is an enormous country. That is like saying we have drug rings in LA so don't come to the US! Crazy! The stereotypes of Mexicans are so negative in the US and this is deeply disturbing to me. The people I have met here are open and wonderful...far nicer and more polite than most Americans you would meet. More people need to travel and experience the world so that the us vs. them mentally is not so big. Anyway, for all of you reading this blog...come to Mexico and see first hand what I mean!

Pictures: These are masks that were for sale. Pictures were not allowed in the gallery, but you get the idea of the intricate nature of many of these masks. The other picture is the entrance to the mask gallery and then the last one is the cactus garden at the B & B.