Mask Maker

Mask Maker

Just days before Carnaval, young mask maker Miguel Morine Morte was still working feverishly to finish some masks for a La Vegan troupe. His older brother and mentor, Melvin Antonio Morte, was off to get a visa for a European trip (he and his masks would be part of a contingent promoting the Dominican Republic as a tourist destination).

After Miguel dries the diablo conjuelo (limping devil) masks on a clothes line after they have been painted. (That particular name is the registered name for one of the local Carnaval groups, which has some 160 members, and each member would require a mask.) The devil had immense horns like barbed branches, an elongated nose, and a leering smile and rows of long teeth. The mask was painted in the colors of 2007, white and apple green. Such an art object costs US$1,030, which is not bad compared to the heavy, ornate costumes priced at more than US$4,000. The prices are high because each mask takes the artisan and his assistants seven days to make. This is good money in a country where the poorest citizens don't make that much in an entire year.

The 20 year old, who had started painting for his brother when he was six, insisted that his business wasn't just about the money: "The conetos (masks typical of La Vega's Carnaval), are a cultural tradition, not just in my country but in many others around the world like Brazil, even Germany." He went on to explain the process of fabricating a mask. First a clay mold is sculpted and secured with nails through the head. Then a mixture of gesso (chalk) and acrylic is applied and allowed to dry. It's painted and dried again. Miguel even produced a set of dental work: "In earlier times, they would use real cows' teeth, but now we have a mold for them too."

How might a tourist acquire such a mask? Miguel says, "Turistas can ask a wearer when the parade is over if they would like to sell theirs. Some do, and the going rate is half of what it cost them, say $500."