Teodoro Vidal Collection of Puerto Rican History - About the Collection
In 1992, curator Marvette Pérez contacted Puerto Rican collector Teodoro Vidal Santoni after learning that he was interested in donating his extensive collection of Puerto Rican material culture. In 1997, after several visits and conversations over the course of five years, Mr. Vidal agreed to donate his entire collection to the National Museum of American History. This became one of the largest gifts by an individual to the Museum. One of the most important collections of Puerto Rican material culture in the world, it consists of more than 3,200 objects which date from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
"Teodoro Vidal Collection of Puerto Rican History - About the Collection" showing 8 items.
Carnival Mask
- Description
- This papier-mâché mask was made by Miguel Caraballo in 1985. Masks like this are typically worn by young men from the neighborhood, who don the costume of a vejigante , a character who roams the streets during Carnival, playfully scaring children and other revelers, and swatting them with vejigas (balloon-like, inflated animal bladders).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1985
- maker
- Caraballo, Miguel Angel
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0002
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0002
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Carnival Mask
- Description
- Mask maker Antonio Muñiz has added the horns of a traditional carnaval de Ponce mask (usually representing a devilish face) to a gorilla. This papier-mâché mask has an articulated jaw and a vinyl tongue.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- maker
- Muniz, Antonio
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0009
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0009
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Máscara de Carnaval
- Description
- Although introduced by Spanish settlers, the island's carnival celebrations, like mask making, music, and public performance, have developed into uniquely Puerto Rican traditions that also reflect the customs and sensibilities of Puerto Ricans' African ancestors. This carnival mask pictured here was made by Félix Vázquez. Its comical eyelashes are complimented by a set of teeth that once belonged to a horse or donkey.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- maker
- Vazquez, Felix A.
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0012
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0012
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Máscara de Carnaval
- Description
- This elaborate mask, made around 1980, is painted in red and black, the colors of the city of Ponce. Masks like this are typically worn by young men from the neighborhood, who don the costume of a vejigante, a character who roams the streets during Carnival, playfully scaring children and other revelers, and swatting them with vejigas (balloon-like, inflated animal bladders).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0016
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0016
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Máscara de Carnaval
- Description
- Carnival celebrations featuring performers dressed as devils are found in Puerto Rico and the rest Latin America. The presence of these characters during Carnival is understood by many as an ancient reference to the contest between good and evil. The devilish mask pictured here was made for the carnaval de Ponce. Its collector, Teodoro Vidal, played a key role in publicizing the Ponce carnival and documenting its traditions of mask making and public performance.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0024
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0024
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Disfraz de Carnaval
- Description
- This homemade costume was made for the Ponce carnival. It has a cape attached at the neck made from the same black and red striped fabric (black and red are the colors of the city of Ponce). Carnival participants who wear costumes like this one, in addition to a mask, and other carnival accoutrements like matching shoes, canes, and gloves, are called vejigantes. Vejigantes are famous for playfully swatting at carnival-goers with a vejiga, a dried, inflated bladder. When a real animal bladder in not available, an empty water bottle is an acceptable substitute.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1980
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0047
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0047
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Carnival Mask
- Description
- Carnival celebrations featuring performers dressed as devils are found across Puerto Rico and throughout Latin America. The presence of these characters during Carnival is understood by many as an ancient reference to the contest between good and evil. This devilish mask shows the characteristic style of its maker, Leonardo Pagán. Born in 1929, Pagán was the student of a renowned mask maker, Juan Careta, who worked from the 1890s until the 1950s. After his mentor's death, Pagán masks became highly prized. Pagán died in 2000.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1997-04
- maker
- Pagan, Leonardo
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1215
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1215
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Pava
- Description
- The pava is the traditional hat used by sugar cane cutters, coffee pickers, and other agricultural workers. It is emblematic of the jíbaro (a Puerto Rican from the countryside) and the rustic traditions of the island's folkways. The pava is so closely associated with the notion of authentic Puerto Rican culture that when Luis Muñoz Marín founded the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) in 1938, the party adopted the pava, as its symbol.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1036.002
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1036.002
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center