The event was jointly organized by the Valladolid Photographic Association and Espacio Seminci, which is part of the “Valladolid, Creative City of Cinema” project and is linked to the prestigious Valladolid International Film Week.
Our principal researcher, Professor Pilar Panero, accompanied photographer Miguel Ángel Cruz Sánchez, a collaborator of MASKS, in the presentation of his ambitious photographic project focused on the masks of the northwestern Iberian Peninsula.
The event began with a screening of his work, followed by an engaging discussion with audience participation. Several people connected to different masking traditions were present: Pedro Granado (from Los Machurreros of Pedro Bernardo, province of Ávila), Isaac Macho (from Los Carochos of Riofrío de Aliste, province of Zamora), and Pablo Canal, “El Sidru” (from the Sidros y Comedies of Valdesoto, Principality of Asturias), who explained some details of their traditions.
The audience showed great interest in the ongoing transformations experienced by mask celebrations, beyond their historical links to ancient rites of passage, fertility, protection, and renewal. These festivities allowed rural communities to strengthen their connection with the cycles of nature, the passage of time, and the essential forces that, in agrarian societies, symbolized life and death. Although many have ancient roots —while others emerged more recently and are currently being recovered and reinvented— all of them share a strong symbolic dimension.
We were delighted to take part in this discussion with such an attentive audience interested in mask culture. We would especially like to thank Ángel Pérez González, president of the Valladolid Photographic Association, and Carmen Castaño Villar, head of Espacio Seminci, for the invitation.
The photographs are courtesy of Carlos Blanco
