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Dantzaris with masks: Portugalete International Festival, 2021. Photo: E. X. Dueñas.
Even though that we are still not free of the virus (and its many variants) commonly known as COVID-19, the pandemic now just seems a harrowing time in the past. However, even though it lasted a relatively short period of time, it was a total upheaval of our lives… in a society where a large part of people’s lives is outdoors; and great importance is given to people being in close contact.
The start of the pandemic resulted in harsh restrictions being introduced here in March 2020. Right from the start, that meant that weekend and bank holiday leisure activities and celebratory events, including any type of show, celebration and religious ceremony in that regard, were completely or, in certain cases, partially cancelled.
The mamuxarro of Unanu (Navarre). Photo credit: Josu Larrinaga Zugadi.
Winter masquerades are a series of complex festive rituals observed in much of western Europe between Christmas, beginning of the year, and the end of Carnival time. These celebrations usually combine communal territoriality or social cohesion, neighbourliness and commensality, obscure rituals (fertility or the rebirth of Nature), somewhat dual emotions in the presence of masked people, and as might be expected, secretly or anonymously organized youth groups. These traditionally take the form of either miscellaneous or modest troupes, characterized by music, uproar, dance, and theatricality. In them, one can observe rowdy, intimidating masked individuals holding whips or similar implements, wild beasts, grotesque figures, critical characters staging everyday scenes of collective life, and even road sweepers.
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