LatinaLista — In the 1950s, Carmine and Patricia De Vivi journeyed deep into Mexico visiting one indigenous village after another. As a souvenir of each visit, the artist couple would bring home a mask unique to the dances and rituals of that village.
Over time, the De Vivis collected over 300 indigenous masks. In 2013, they chose to donate their collection, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Texas.
Housed in a permanent collection titled Masked: Changing Identities, the collection had its inauguration at a festive opening reception complete with matachines performing their own ritual dance.
In the featured video of the opening reception, Carmine De Vivi shares his personal reasons as to why he began collecting Mexican face masks, their importance and their significance to the people he met.
(Featured Photo Credit: Flickr account of Introvert With a Camera)
