Mexican Mask Mayhem

While, this is not the technical title of the event, it would have been all to appropriate. With the wind and the cold subdued for a short period of time, Saturday afternoon was the perfect setting for the Arizona State Museum's "Culture Craft Saturday: Puppet Play."

Tables and booths scattered the lawn in front of UA's museum set up for puppet creation, mask making and a live tortilla cooking demonstration (my personal favorite).

The event was obviously geared toward a younger generation as children from a local elementary school flooded the craft tables. Puppet heads decorated with funky, fuzzy hair, painted faces and jazzy jeweled fabric were paraded around as masterpieces. School children set their creative talents to the test making Mexican inspired masks, while learning about the history and origin.



But the real "hot spot" of the event was Matilda Santa Cruz's tortilla tent. Originally from Sonora, Mexico, Matilda demonstrated what the art form her mother taught her. Made with flour, shortening salt and water Matilda expertly formed and cooked the delicious tortillas. This was as authentic as it gets.



Step One:
Pat down hands with flour

Step Two:
Flatten ball of dough into hands and start to slowly widdle the ball down.

Step Three:
Begin to flatten and stretch dough in your hands.

Step Four:
Fan out dough into wide circle about 14" across and lay on griddle surface.



The tortilla cooking device, called a Patsari, was made by Matilda's cousin out of an industrial metal trash can with door opening for firewood to heat the griddle above. A chimney like tube is fastened in the back and extends above the griddle about three or four feet to distribute the excess smoke. The entire top of the can is covered by a flat metal plate, that serves as the griddle. This is how Matilda and her family have always cooked homemade tortillas. The result was a thin, warm, fresh tortilla like I've never had before.



However, the focal point of the event was a puppet performance by
Tucson Puppetworks which was asked by the Arizona State Museum to perform a folklore piece. The detailed yet massive puppets stood almost 15 high and were fashioned to sit atop the shoulders of puppeteer, while the body of the puppet covered a puppeteer up to his or her knees.

With movable and semi-functional limbs, the uniqueness of the puppets itself was much more impressive than the quasi-impromptu performance. They were a sight to be seen when performing alongside the human narrator as they rose another five to six feet above the top of his head.

The puppets are called monigotes and are traditionally used in Mexican culture for story telling. The large heads and small bodies of Tucson Puppetworks' creations and are built onto backpack like devices that the puppeteers wear, so they are literally in the body of the puppet where they control the limbs.

"A New Spoon for Every Bite" is a common Mexican tale about a poor couple and their child and their wealthy neighbor who learns a lesson about material possessions and what's important in life.