The large hat worn by the little boy was drawn with an eagle
At the festival in Zaachila, I came across a boy dressed in traditional costume, balancing on his head an enormous, flamboyant hat. The hat was painted with the image of a bird, its metallic sheen further adorned with extravagant feathers. I wondered what species it was meant to be. Mexico’s national bird is the crested caracara, a member of the falcon family, but when seen strolling casually along the roadside it hardly conveys any majesty at all. If the bird on this boy’s hat was indeed a caracara, then it had undergone quite a transformation—made grander and more imposing than the child himself. Such exaggeration, I thought, must be the very essence of festival pageantry.
Still, the hat’s weight must have been considerable. Watching the small boy support that towering ornament, he looked less like a dancer than a young monk under discipline. In the parade at Saachila, children don such costumes, dancing and marching in elaborate processions. To an outsider’s eye, however, the performance seemed less like play and more like labor. That, perhaps, is the paradox of festivals everywhere: behind the bright smiles lies the hidden toil that sustains the celebration.
| Dec 2010 MEXICO PEOPLE | |
| BOY ETHNIC COSTUME ZAACHILA |
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PHOTO DATA
No
4939
Shooting Date
Jul 2010
Posted On
December 9, 2010
Modified On
September 5, 2025
Place
Zaachila, Mexico
Genre
Portrait Photography
Camera
CANON EOS 1V
Lens
EF85MM F1.2L II USM
