This wonderfully expressive carnival figure by Martin Xuana of San Martin Tilcajete is based on the town’s famous diablos aceitados, or “oiled devils,” who take over the streets during Carnival before Ash Wednesday. Participants traditionally darken or paint their bodies, wear carved masks, tie cencerros, or cowbells, around their waists, and run, shout, and dance through town to the sound of the bells and band music.
Martin captures that tradition with a crouching black figure wearing a vivid javalina mask, surrounded by a looped cane or switch and carrying a wooden staff. The gold-painted bells hanging from his waist are especially important. In the actual Carnival, the cencerros create a tremendous racket as the dancers move through the streets, making sound part of the spectacle itself. Masks may represent devils, animals, fantastic beings, or human-animal hybrids, and many are carved by local artisans.
I especially like the contrast between the mostly black body and the intensely painted mask in blue, red, turquoise, and yellow. The figure stands on a natural section of wood, which keeps the piece closely connected to San Martin Tilcajete’s carving tradition while also making it feel like a small portrait of the Carnival itself.
