Jester Mask

Item number 2946/94 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Pepino mask. Fabric mask with a half-white, half-blue face. The tip of the nose and curved lips are painted red. There are diamonds and circles painted on the chin, red and blue with yellow outlines on the blue side and white and red with black outlines on the white side. There are white ears stapled to the side of the face. There are three foam triangles at the top of the head in pink, white, and yellow. The bottom hem is unfinished on both sides.

History Of Use

La Paz's pepinos, or buffoons, are derived from the Italian Punchinello of the commedia dell'arte, which was imported into Latin America through the 18th-century Spanish court theatre. Buffoons, dressed as devils, demonic beasts etc., personify ridiculousness and stupidity, and elicit laughter to reaffirm the community's rejection of evil, anti-social behaviour, and "foreignness", while expressing its commonly held ethical aspirations and moral identity.