Most of the masked traditions in Portugal happen in the Northwest of country, where the distance from the coast and the main cities, along with the mountains that stand in between, allowed these pagan traditions to survive. Lazarim is one of those villages with pre-christan traditions: a Carnival hidden behind alder wood masks. Despite not being the place furthest away the fact that it lies in a bottom of a valley in the Montemuro mountains makes it be more isolated than it apparently it is.
It’s this isolation, along with the resilience of those who’ve been living there, that kept their tradition alive. What initially was a pagan fertility ritual, and highly subversive due to the masks and anonymity, survived through a strict fascist regime with strong Catholic values. It’s a common trait of all the mask traditions if been following in the last years: the church and local priest never were too fond about it. At Lazarim, during the dictatorship years, the festivities often ended up in the police station, and later the court, where the whole village would appear for trial.
Nowadays the “guards” no longer go after the people of Lazarim, and small crowds appear on the Carnival weekend, specially on Shrove Tuesday, to attend the festivities. Things have evolved. The alder masks are still built according to the traditional motifs, but more modern ones have appeared (although the old devil masks are still the coolest), and a competition was created where all artisans aim for the trophy for the best mask of the year.
The hills around Lazarim, and the curvy road that leads to it in the bottom of the valley.
Some of the houses of Lazarim, with a few already in decay. Tools and chips of wood from ongoing work on a mask.
Carving the way into a mask from a solid block of alder.
A corner of a mask workshop, with finished masks and trophies from previous years.
Elementary school with the date of the last school day before Carnival. Lighting the fire, to cook the beans and meat inside the pots that will be served to everyone.
Early in the afternoon the first masked people start to appear in the streets, heading to the main square. Full mask and costume, ready for Carnival.
Finding the best spots. One by one the “caretos”, the masked ones, arrive to the main square, at the same time the audience gets larger.
The square is the gathering place, and soon gets packed with attendees to find which is has the best mask. The masked people with their costumes line up side by side, just in front the small stage.
One young man and one young girl (_compadre* and _comadre*) will climb onto a stage and read the “testamentos”, a long list of not flattering “facts” regarding other villagers. Large crowd listening to the reading of the “Testamentos” in the main square.
Being a winter festivity in the North of Portugal rain is very common.
The last activity of the day: the burning of the “compadre” and “comadre”, with everyone (including the masked people) watching from afar.
Shrove Tuesday ends with everyone eating the beans and meat that had been cooking the whole afternoon.