This series of posts about Yoeme (Yaqui) Pascola masks began on July 4, 2016.

In 1990 I purchased a wonderful Yaqui Pascola mask with the face of a Chango (an ape or monkey) from Robin and Barbara Cleaver. As was frequently the case, this mask came up from Mexico at that time with little history. There was a similar mask in the collection of James Griffith, and he had included it in the book that he wrote with Felipe Molina—Old Men of the Fiesta: An Introduction to the Pascola Arts (1980, page 23, fig. 10 right). That mask too lacked an identified carver, but Griffith did state that it dated to the early 1970’s. I didn’t meet Tom Kolaz until about one year later; he told me that both masks were the work of Manuel Centella Escalante. I later realized that a handsome Goat pascola mask from about 1960, which was in the same photo as Griffith’s Chango mask, had also been carved by Manuel Centella. Two things became apparent in the years that followed—that there were many more unidentified Manuel Centella masks in private and museum collections, and that this relatively unknown carver was one of the most brilliant Yaqui artists of the mid-20th century. In this post and several more to follow I will celebrate his work. Today I will show a series of Chango masks by Manuel.

I share the impression of James Griffith that this carver may well have been the inventor of these Chango masks. He was certainly the one who created a number of them during a period when they were popular, sometime in the 1960s or 70s. They had their moment, but since then human faced masks and canine masks have been most commonly chosen by dancers. One of the more reliable distinguishing factors for this carver is this forehead cross, which consists of four triangles with their points together. Often there is a chin cross of the same design, but we shall not see this on the majority of the Chango masks.

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This series of posts about Yoeme (Yaqui) Pascola masks began on July 4, 2016.

In June, 1988 I bought my first Yaqui Pascola masks from Robin and Barbara Cleaver. So far you have seen two of those masks—a human faced Pascola by Román Borbón and a goat by Alejandro Reyes Alegria. I bought today’s Yaqui Pascola mask from the Cleavers in 1990. All three were initially anonymous, and as with the other two, I became curious to learn the name of the carver of this mask. I confess that I pestered my friend Tom Kolaz for years with erroneous ideas that he rejected, and eventually I accepted the likelihood that this was one mask that would probably remain anonymous. Here is that mask, which probably dates to the 1960s or 70s.

Because of the lolling tongue and the informal paint I thought of Antonio Bacasewa and Inez “Cheto” Álvarez as the possible carvers; I will introduce Cheto’s masks in a later post.

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This series of posts about Yoeme (Yaqui) Pascola masks began on July 4, 2016.

In this final post about the masks of Camilo Álvarez Buitimea I will continue to mix made for sale masks with others that were said to have been danced. I will begin with a made for sale goat that could easily have been used by a dancer. This mask greatly resembles other goat faced masks that were carved by Camilo’s father, Inez “Cheto” Alvarez. We might call this a “conventional” made for sale mask, in contrast to the majority of Camilo’s made for sale masks that are so unconventional, but to my eyes wonderful.

This looks like a faithful copy by Camilo of the usual goat faced Pascola masks that were carved by Cheto Álvarez.

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This series of posts about Yoeme (Yaqui) Pascola masks began on July 4, 2016.

Last week we looked at three or four made for sale masks by Camilo Álvarez Buitimea, followed by dog and human faced masks by this carver that had been danced.

Today we will examine some additional danced and made for sale examples, but with a difference—the danced masks will prove to be as unusual as the made for sale masks. I ‘ll start with one of the made for sale masks, apparently depicting a skunk.

The expression on this face, which projects anxiety or shyness, is achieved with such simplicity. Continue Reading →

This series of posts about Yoeme (Yaqui) Pascola masks began on July 4, 2016.

There is only one Yaqui carver whose masks could possibly compete with the unusual animal masks of Jesús Rodríguez Muñoz, and that is Camilo Álvarez Buitimea, the artist who carved that beautiful lizard mask in an earlier post. Here is a group of undanced masks by Camilo that includes this lizard. We will examine the other three masks today, along with two others by Camilo that were collected by Barney Burns and Mahina Drees as danced masks.

Do you have a favorite?

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In the last two months we have examined masks by four members of the Rodríguez family—brothers Rodrigo Rodríguez Muñoz and Jesús Rodríguez Muñoz, their father Preciliano Rodríguez Cupis, and their uncle Conrado Rodríguez Cupis, who is the brother of Preciliano. Based on stylistic details, my friend Tom Kolaz and I have noticed many masks which were undoubtedly carved by one of the four, although erroneously attributed to other carvers (some in and others out of the family). It is evidently difficult, even for Rodríguez family members, to decide which one of these artists made a particular mask. I sometimes can only offer my best guess. My friend Tom Kolaz even wonders whether some of these masks were the result of a group effort. Today I will show several of these masks that seem particularly difficult to assign to a single carver. For example, here is a photo of the final mask in today’s post, a Payaso (clown), to whet your appetite.

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Today I will show masks that have been identified as the work of Conrado Rodríguez Cupis. The first was attributed to Conrado by his family at the time of sale to Barney and Mahina Burns in 2005 (B/M 424/416).

Isn’t this a dramatic mask! The eyes look like those of Preciliano but the teeth support the family’s assignment to Conrado and the triangles under the eyes don’t curve like those of Preciliano. There is an area of damage on the left cheek.

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This series of posts about Yoeme (Yaqui) Pascola masks began on July 4, 2016. In this third post about the masks made by two brothers, Preciliano Rodríguez Cupis and Conrado Rodríguez Cupis, and largely drawing on the Burns collection, I will focus on masks that appear to have been made by Preciliano; some turned out to be by Conrado. I begin with a mask that Rodriguez family members attributed to Preciliano. It was collected by Barney and Mahina Drees Burns in 1996 (B/M 451/442).

Looking at the full frontal view, I notice the design of the eyes (thin vision slits under painted eyes), which is typical of Conrado or Preciliano.

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This post will focus on masks that I would attribute to Preciliano Rodríguez Cupis, on the basis of the nose design. Although some were originally said to have been carved by other artists, you will have the opportunity to see how similar they are, as if all were by the same person. I will include one mask that was allegedly made by Conrado Rodríguez Cupis, which also has a dramatic nose. The first (B/M 206/203) was said to have been carved by Ruben Hernández, however neither Tom Kolaz nor I accept that attribution, as we each have a number of masks by that artist and this one is distinctly different from his hand. Furthermore, this is an obvious mask from the Rodríguez family, and a classic mask by Preciliano. The big tip-off is the nose, which is much like the one at the end of last week’s post. The forehead cross is also similar to the one on that mask.

I see this as a brilliant mask. The warty nose is so dramatic. The prominent and rather abstract cheekbones also mark this mask as Preciliano’s. The integration of the cross with the rim design is probably a marker for Preciliano, and almost certainly a Rodríguez trait.

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Today I will introduce you to two more Yoeme (Yaqui) carvers from the Rodríguez family, Preciliano Rodríguez Cupis  and his brother, Conrado Rodríguez Cupis. Preciliano was the father of Rodrigo Rodríguez Muñoz and Jesús Rodríguez Muñoz, while Conrado is their uncle. There are various spellings for Preciliano, and this is the version used by this family. When we encounter the Pascola masks of these four artists, certain similarities are obvious, and it is not always easy to decide whether a particular mask was made by one or another of them. Undoubtedly they learned from one another, and it is possible that they sometimes collaborated on a batch of masks. Rodrigo’s masks tend to be the most consistent in style, and those of Jesús frequently display a certain overall shape, but the masks of Preciliano and Conrado demonstrate greater variability. Either they are less formulaic or their styles have evolved over time. They are often wonderful, from an artistic perspective. I will continue to draw mainly upon masks from the Barney and Mahina Burns collection to illustrate these carvers.

I will begin with several masks that have been attributed to Conrado, whether by his family, Tom Kolaz, or me. The first (B/M 466) was sold to Barney and Mahina as a mask carved by Pedro Onamea in 1997, but Tom immediately recognized it as the work of Conrado. It is a spectacular mask. Unfortunately I neglected to take a side view that would have celebrated this nose.

In addition to the obvious Rodríguez family features, this mask has some notable details; the eyes, although framed in the usual Rodríguez fashion, have carved irises. There is a dramatic oversized nose, a beaked mouth, and inscribed lines on the face, such as over the eyes. Beaked mouths on Pascola masks were in fashion 100 years ago, but here we observe that Conrado was participating in what would seem to be a living tradition.

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