Between bellows and snorts, the herd of devils run through the streets, terrorizing them with their huge masks.
The thunder of their whips can be heard in the streets and the children flee as the creatures covered in leather and with heads full of other animal heads, with crowned horns, shaggy manes and sharp fangs ... heads full of the colorful fantasy of this disconcerting Mexico. Amid bellowing and snorting the herd of devils runs through the streets, terrorizing with their huge masks. The thunder of their whips can be heard in the streets and the children flee as the creatures covered in leather and with heads full of other animal heads, with crowned horns, shaggy manes and sharp fangs ... heads full of the colorful fantasy of this puzzling Mexico.
SKILL AND GLOSSY CONTEST
On the afternoon of September 16, the streets of Teloloapan, Guerrero, are filled with devils who, accompanied by euphoria, comply with the annual custom of participating in the contest where they have to wear their costumes and their ability to thunder their long whips in the air, with rapid forward and backward movements, and even kneeling or "with the left foot."
In front of the municipal palace the devils parade, between 20 and 30 at the moment, and the judges qualify the outfit to reward the most original and colorful.
The cuera, a tanned deerskin garment that completely covers the body, is the basis of the showy costume that can cost up to 15,000 pesos. An animal skin that covers the back, thick gloves and boots are the complement, but everything is overshadowed by the frighteningly beautiful wooden bunting mask, up to 20 kg in weight and 80 cm in height, with horns and many figures carved on it. wood that stand out and saturate it to the maximum: snakes, human heads, feline jaws ...
PATRIOT DEVILS
During the afternoons of the week following the 16th, the devils usually roam the streets in droves, grunting and running around that terrify children, and the loud clicking of their whips.
According to tradition, the devils of Teloloapan had patriotic origin, in the war of Independence, relevant in the state of Guerrero, since Acatempan is located seven kilometers away, a town where the head of the insurgent army, Vicente Guerrero, and that of the Royalist army, Agustín de Iturbide, on March 10, 1821, which began the end of the War of Independence.
It is known that one of Vicente Guerrero's closest collaborators, the audacious and intelligent Pedro Ascencio Alquisiras, won several battles between 1818 and 1820, partly because of knowing well the Guerrero lands and partly because of his military strategies and unexpected attacks.
Tradition tells that one of Ascencio's followers, José Atanasio, a native of Tierra Caliente, in one of his occurrences he wore the leather that they use in his region to protect himself from the thorny bushes, and a mask that he carved out of wood and decorated with bull horns and horse mane. He completed his hideous outfit with a whip knitted by himself and thus amused himself with his fellow battle mates in a moment of rest.
On one occasion when Pedro Ascencio decided to take the town of Teloloapan for the insurgent army, his troops were ambushed and besieged by the royalists. A fence of soldiers prevented rebels and the population from leaving, even for food. So, inspired by José Atanasio's devil costume, it occurred to Ascencio to dress his troops in similar costumes. The women of the town, free from the suspicion of the royalists, provided the bunting wood to carve the masks and spread the rumor that the demon was haunting Teloloapan. Many royalists believed it.
Thus, one night, the sudden appearance of the devils distributed by the town surprised and frightened the enemy guards, who fell under the bullets of the insurgents and they were able to break the siege.
After celebrating the triumph in the Teloloapan square, the “devils” gave their masks to the young people of the town, who each year remembered the event on the day of the beginning of the Independence movement.
THE GOOD DON FIDEL
Pillar of the devilish tradition, Don Fidel de la Puente Fabián dedicated 55 years of his life to making these masks and promoting the devils of his beloved Teloloapan. Respected and loved by all, when he passed away in 2000 he inherited the privilege and commitment from his son Fidel, an expert in the handling of the whip, many times winner of the contest and who also makes masks and promotes devils.
The Teloloapan devil masks are found among collectors and museums in various places in Mexico and around the world. Masks that came out by dozens of the skillful hands of Don Fidel to amaze delighting many people, who never refused to sell them: "I make the masks" - he said - "not money."
BOXES, FRUIT BOXES AND SONG BAGS
“Water that runs under or between the rocks”, means Teloloapan, a town under which there are streams that have been explored by the locals in a series of underground cavities, springs and drains.
The modernist and uniform constructions have mostly displaced the traditional old houses of Teloloapan, with thick walls and tile roofs.
The small local museum displays some objects related to devils, dances and the history of the town.
In the market you can get the rice flour muffins called cajitas, the bean atole and the corn gorditas with piloncillo, regional cravings. Famous in Teloloapan is the mole, of which there are 18 factories that send it to various parts of the country.
Some of the mines in the region still work, such as Tehuixtla, from which silver, gold, copper, zinc and other minerals are extracted.
Light and soft is the wood of the regional techonquelite tree, with a texture very similar to that of unicel, which Don Genaro Zaragoza - perhaps the last craftsman of this wood - molds with sandpaper to make colorful fruit bowls that are very traditional in this city where the famous trio arose. "The Songbooks of the South".
IF YOU GO TO TELOLOAPAN
Leaving the city of Taxco, take federal highway no. 95 to Iguala; from here continue on federal highway no. 51 heading to Ciudad Altamirano. Teloloapan is located 60 km from Iguala, a city that has all the services.
Source: Unknown Mexico No. 307 / September 2002
