Hundreds of revelers will flock to the Cerro de la Riena in Tonala on Tuesday, July 25 to witness the traditional Danza de los Tastoanes honoring Saint James the Apostle and commemorating an indigenous insurgence during the Spanish invasion of western Mexico.
The centuries-old religious ritual dates back to the arrival of the Spanish in the old kingdom of Tonallan. The Indian queen, Cihualpilli, received the Spanish troops with open arms and willingly converted to Catholicism.
But a group of Indians less enamored with the European invaders and their religion banded together and rebelled, putting up a heroic fight on Tonala’s Cerro de la Reina hill. As legend has it, when their rebellion was put down they were turned into grotesque monsters known as “Tastoanes.”
Unique to the states of Jalisco and Zacatecas, the Tastoanes festivals feature dramatization and ritualistic dancing to symbolize the eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil.
The action revolves around Saint James the Apostle, known in Spanish as Santo Santiago, brandishing his sword atop a handsome white stallion to defend the faith against the heathen Tastoanes.
The festivities feature a procession of the bizarre but beautiful masks handmade from wood and adorned with clay and even horse’s teeth. Tastoan mask-making has become one of Tonala’s emblematic art forms, with special prizes awarded each year for the best original creation and top entries conserved in the permanent collections of various local museums.
The celebrations are set to begin at 9 a.m. and run continuously through the evening hours.