Diablada Masks Collection and Dancing with Devils Exhibition

Latin American Masks Donation

In 2020 OSU alumnus Mark Gordon and Barton College entrusted the Center for Latin American Studies and the Kawsay Ukhunchay Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Art and Cultural Artifacts Research Collection with a series of exquisite diablada masks from various Latin American countries. Masked festival traditions depicting devils in a variety of forms abound in Latin America. Student curators for the Andean and Amazonian Collection dedicated themselves to cleaning and repairing the masks in preparation for display.  The physical exhibit at the Thompson Library was put on hold during the COVID pandemic shut down. OSU Libraries pivoted to create a terrific online exhibit. We plan to bring the physical exhibit back in autumn of 2022 at the Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise along with an artist residency supported by the K’acha Willaykuna Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Arts and Humanities project funded through Ohio State’s Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme.

Dancing with Devils: Latin American Mask Traditions Exhibition

This exhibit presents a collection of Latin American masks from the Center for Latin American Studies’ Andean and Amazonian Cultural Artifacts Collection. Alongside are photographs of Diablada de Píllaro (Devil Dance of Píllaro) in the Ecuadorian province of Tungurahua taken by Ohio State Multimedia Journalism Lecturer Leonardo Carrizo. The online exhibition was supported by OSU Libraries.

Please visit this exciting online exhibition on the library’s website, Dancing with Devils.

Close-up portrait of a festival participant in a devil mask. The devil face is bright yellow, with red antlers. A red tongue and four long tusks protrude from the devil's mouth. Chains connect the devils large ears to its nose and tongue.

Videos:

Artist’s Talk on Dancing with Devils: Latin American Mask Traditions Recording and Transcript

Below is the recording and transcript for the Artist’s Talk on Dancing with Devils: Latin American Mask Traditions from March 22nd, 2021. This was a conversation about the making of this online exhibition with documentary photographer and Ohio State School of Communication instructor Leonardo Carrizo, OSU Latin American Area Librarian Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros, and special guest Fernando Endara, a Diablo de Píllaro from Ecuador.

Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) Virtual Coffee Hour: Dancing with Devils

CLAS presented a collection of Latin American masks, donated by OSU alumnus Mark Gordon and Barton College. On June 25, 2020, Mark joined us to talk about his experiences collecting the masks and research in Latin America.

Dancing with Devils: Masks Timelapse Video

Diablada Pillareña

This video shares the history of the Diablada de Píllaro including its origins, traditional festival characters, and artisans of the diablo masks.

Instituto Iberoamericano de Patrimonio Natural y Cultural (IPANC), Diablada Pillareña, Jan 25, 2017, Tungurahua, Ecuador