XANTOLO

XANTOLO

An international collaboration in Bali, Indonesia

For the Huasteca people of Mexico, Xantolo is a derivation of the expression "all saints," which is what the Spaniards named the day of death.

The Mexican people transformed this manifestation into one of their most beautiful and popular festivals. During their Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) the heritage of Spanish Catholicism and the solemn ritual of their pre-Hispanic past merge into a single party in which the dead return to eat and dance with the living.

Is this a Death cult? On the contrary, it is a celebration of life ... and the masks are there to confuse Death. Therefore, in the Xantolo everyone wants to wear a mask ... to dance almost to death without ever being recognized.

That's the game-- death wants to live just for the love of being alive, and the people who play with her know they'll never die. --Alicia Martinez Alvarez

Day of the Dead masks come to Bali

Cremation ceremonies honoring the dead and marking their passage to the unseen world are a major part of the Balinese ceremonial and family life. During DAI's annual Study Abroad: Bali 2010 program, our special guest mask teacher from Mexico City, Alicia Martinez-Alvarez, has been teaching us how to dance the masks of the Day of the Dead festivals from several regions of Mexico.

PHOTO:
Alicia Martinez-Alvarez coaches the Xantolo dancers.

Alicia will offer a demonstration of Dia de los Muertos masks to the Balinese mask community on January 28.

Alicia is the director of the Laboratorio de la Mascara, a center for research into the mask; she taught in DAI’s MFA program in 2006. She has brought with her 16 traditional wooden festival masks from the regions of Mexico where Day of the Dead festivals take place. During the cultural exchange, "XANTOLO," she will speak about the Mexican death rites, show photos and videos, and dance several of the masks.

Participants in DAI's Bali program, including our DAI’s 3^rd year MFA students, will also dance these masks. Balinese mask dance as well as mask carving have been part of their program as well.

Photo: Program participant Marte Synevaag, a costume designer from Norway, dresses one of the students in festival mask.The dancers must be completely disguised, with natural materials added to their costumes as final touches.

XANTOLO is a three-way collaboration between DAI, Laboratorio de la Mascara, and Setia Darma, the House of Masks & Puppets in Mas, Gianyar, Bali Indonesia. Setia Darma is a new museum for wooden masks and puppets from around the world . At the end of the event, the 16 masks will become the first Mexican masks to join the permanent collection at Setia Darma.

The address of the House of Masks & Puppets is:

Br. Tengkulak Tengah, Kemenuh, Sukawati

Br. Tegal Bingin, Mas, Ubud

081 760 22234

Photo: Alicia adjusts costuming for one of the oldest festival masks, the Goat.

Photos: Patrick Pasquier, Joan Schirle

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