El Vejigante

El Vejigante

Multiple Choice

During the 12th century people made the vejigante character masks to represent what?

• St, James the apostle

• The defeated Moors

• Animals

Multiple Choice

In the 1600's the vejigantes represented what?

• demons

• animals

• ghosts

Multiple Select

What colors are the masks typically?

• green

• yellow

• red

• black

Multiple Select

What are the masks made out of?

• paper mache

• coconut husks

• leaves

El Vejigante

A vejigante is a common folkloric character seen in Puerto Rico during Carnaval, Santiago (St James) saint day, and other festival celebrations. The characters march in parades wearing colorful and ornate masks and costumes with bat wings. The word vejigante comes from 2 words that mean giant bladder (vejiga gigante) because they originally held a “weapon” of a large, blown up, painted cow bladder!

Historia

Later, in the 12th century, Catholics in Spain were trying to push the Moors out of Spain. Santiago, (St James the Apostle) the patron saint of Spain, was believed to help the Spanish in battle. On July 25th, his Saint’s day, people celebrated the victory and made vejigante characters to represent the defeated Moors.

• 500 years later, in the 1600s, the vejigantes represented demons, and were used in religious festivals and processions to try to scare people to go back to church.

• The vibrant vejigantes masks are green, yellow, and red, or red and black, and always look “scary.”

• They can be made from papier-mâché or coconut husks.