Ruben Hernández is a Yaqui carver who lives and works in Vicam, Sonora. I have been familiar with this carver’s work for many years. For some reason that is unknown to me, one finds masks in Ruben’s style under at least three different names—Ruben Hernández, Martin Ramírez Urbanezo, and Antonio Rosas. I suppose it is possible that these are three separate carvers who share one overlapping style, but I tend to think that Ruben carved under all three names.

I have masks of Ruben in my collection that were collected in Sonora by dealers other than Barney and Mahina Drees Burns. When I photographed the Burns mask collection, I found at least four additional masks by Ruben, some attributed to him and some to other carvers. I also encountered a number of masks by other carvers that had been erroneously attributed to Ruben Hernández by those who sold them to Barney and Mahina. This has been, of course, a generic problem with Pascola masks collected in Sonora, reflecting genuine similarities in style between carvers, along with a tendency for one artist to repaint another carver’s work. Generic local styles add to the confusion.

Today I will focus on human faced masks from these collections that are typical of Ruben’s hand. Next week I will discuss Ruben’s animal faced masks.

Here is a mask from my collection that I purchased on EBay™ in 2005. I recall that a dealer offered a series of masks by this carver, and I only purchased the best of them. I tell you this to emphasize that Ruben has carved many masks and the quality of those masks has varied from mediocre to wonderful. This one was labeled as the work of Martin Ramírez Urbanezo and appears to be undanced.

I was immediately impressed with the dramatic nature of this carving. Looking at the details in comparison to those on masks by Hilario Álvarez Mendoza, I am struck by the similarities in their styles, although Ruben carves with greater flair.

The frontal view is less dramatic than that from the side, but does demonstrate the elaborate attention that Ruben paid to the hair on this mask. Although it was probably carved for sale to a non-dancer, the artist has applied 21 full bundles of horsetail around the chin and 16 more across the brows.

The nose has the general form of those carved by Hilario Álvarez Mendoza, a fact that Tom Kolaz had pointed out to me, however this nose is far more dramatic than those of Hilario.

Looking up from below, I find this mask particularly beautiful. It is 8½ inches tall, 6 inches wide, and 4 inches deep.

Probably it was the dealer who purchased the mask from the carver who wrote this name. There is no staining to suggest that this mask was ever danced, and the strap (string) is too light for dancing. Nevertheless, the back is carefully carved.

Here is a second human faced Pascola mask from my collection. This one, purchased from an EBay seller in 2014, came with no provenance, and I have attributed it to Ruben.

The resemblance to masks by Hilario Álvarez Mendoza is apparent.

Ruben prefers to paint the rim design in two contrasting colors and he does like bright colors. We will see this furrowed tongue again on Ruben’s animal masks in next week’s post.

The forehead cross is of the typical shape for Ruben, although often he outlines that cross in a contrasting color.

This mask is 7¼ inches tall, 5¼ inches wide, and 2½ inches deep. Such a shallow depth suggests that it was intended for a child.

There is no staining from use.

The next two masks in today’s post are still in the Burns collection. This one (B&M 403) was reportedly made in 1987 and then danced by Luis Jaimes. Luis claimed to have been the carver, but Tom Kolaz immediately recognized it as in the style of Ruben Hernández. The dimensions of this mask suggest that it too was made for a child; it is 7¼ inches tall, 5 inches wide, and 2½ inches in depth.

Mahina braided the beard bundles to keep them neat, doing as she had seen the Yaquis do for masks during storage.

The stars appear to depict comets or shooting stars.In the absence of city lights, such things have always been highly visible in the night sky to desert dwellers.

Here is one of those outlined crosses.

There is no chin cross.

This mask shows significant staining from use.

The brow hair on the next mask has been bent out of shape. It should arch over the face. As noted on other masks by Ruben, the brows and beard are composed of many bundles of horsetail.

This mask has a dynamic nose that reminds one of that on the first mask.

As you can see from these examples, Ruben is capable of excellent craftsmanship, although sometimes he seems to have churned out masks for sale that are less carefully carved.

This is another mask with a sturdy strap and good evidence of wear.

I will finish with a another child sized mask. This one is owned by Tom Kolaz, who graciously supplied these photos. Tom collected it in 2014 after it had been danced for 7 years.

I like being able to show you a mask by Ruben with a pink face.

Otherwise I am sure you will agree that most of the design details match up with Ruben’s other masks.

The forehead cross, the rim design, and the quality of the hair are all similar to the rest of today’s masks.

The butterflies on the cheeks are particularly charming.

The nose and the lower lip are scuffed from use. This mask is 6½ inches tall and 4¾ wide, making it even smaller than the two other children’s masks in this post.

The back of this mask has significant staining from use, and the original leather strap remains with the mask. The top edge is chipped, further evidence for the occasional rough conditions at fiestas, where alcohol is prescribed as a ritual beverage.

Next week we will look at animal masks by Ruben Hernández..