NATURE AND FLORAL
PUERTO RICO
PUERTO RICO'S VEJIGANTES
A vejigante is a folkloric character in Puerto Rican festival celebrations . Vejigantes wear brightly colored, ornate masks of all colors and a costume with bat-like wings. The term vejigante derives from the word vejiga (bladder) and gigante due to custom of blowing up and painting cow bladders. The masks are often linked to many festivals that continue today, especially in Loíza and Ponce. In the 12th century St. James the Apostle was believed to lead the Catholic militia to win a battle over the infidel Moors. St. James is the patron saint of Spain and on his saints day, when people celebrated the Victory of St. James over the Moors, the vejigante represented the Moors with whom St. James fought. By the 17th century it was typical to see processionals in Spain in which vejigantes were demons meant to terrify people into going back to church. Hence, there are references of vejigantes in Cervantes' "Don Quixote" written in 1605. Back then, the vejigante symbolized the Devil in the battle between good and evil. Vejigante masks are usually meant as "fright" masks. -Wikipedia
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Website designed by Ivonne Galanes.
Website designed by Ivonne Galanes.