José Reyes Juárez is a Mexican mask maker for traditional dances in the state of

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala, is one of the 32 federal entities that comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tlaxcala, 60 municipalities and t ...

. His work has earned him the title of “grand master” from the Fomento Cultural

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. Reyes Juárez is from a small community called Tlatempan, in the municipality of San Pablo Apetatitlán, Tlaxcala. The making of masks is a family tradition, begun when his grandfather went to

Huejotzingo Huejotzingo () is a small city and municipalities of Puebla, municipality located just northwest of the Puebla, Puebla, city of Puebla, in central Mexico. The settlement's history dates back to the pre-Hispanic period, when it was a dominion, with ...

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to learn how to make them. This knowledge was passed on to Reyes Juárez's father, then down to him. For some time, the family was the only one in Tlaxcala that made traditional masks. The artisan has had a career of over forty years and the family is well known for their work, masking the masks for almost all of the carnival celebrations in the state of Tlaxcala. His techniques are very similar to those of the colonial period and does not use molds or models, rather he sculpts designs from memory. Most of the masks are related to traditional dances such as the ''Danza de Cuadrillas'', ''Cuatro Estaciones'', ''Taragotas'', ''Francesas'', ''Los catrines de levita'' and ''La gota''. The last two are danced only in San Juan Totolac. He uses wood from a pine called ayacahuite bought locally. After the mask is sculpted, it is covered in plaster painted then varnished. The artisan also makes and repairs religious images to order.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes Juarez, Jose Artists from Tlaxcala Masks in the Americas Living people 20th-century Mexican artists Year of birth missing (living people)