Danza de los Pascolas y el VenadoArtist(s)Carlos MéridaArtist NationalityGuatemalanObject Creation Datecirca 1937-1939Medium & Supportlithograph on paperDimensions
16 7/8 in x 12 1/2 in (42.86 cm x 31.75 cm)Credit LineMuseum PurchaseSubject matter
This is one of a series of ten prints that depict the traditional dances of México. Mérida was the co-founder of the dance school for the Secretariat of Education (Escuela de la Danza de la Secretaría de Educación Pública), which worked to preserve the native dances of the region. In addition to this set, at this time, he produced a number of series that cataloged the popular arts and industries of Mexico and his native Guatemala.
This print depicts the dance of the Pascola, the ceremonial host, and the deer. Dating back at least three-hundred years, this dance was practiced to appease the gods and bring rain. The dance is an effort of humanity (Pascola) to gain control over nature represented by the deer. Even today, this is a vital dance for the Mayo and Yaqui people of western Mexico and is carried out often. Over time, Christian iconography has been incorporated: for example, the gold attachments on the Pascola's waistband, numbering eight in the print, represent the twelve apostles. Physical Description
Centered on the page in this print are two figures. Both have oranged-tan skin, revealed by their bare chests, arms and legs. At their ankles, there are white bands with gold circles. On the left, the figure wears blue shorts with a wide white waistband. He faces away, on his head there is a headdress in the shape of a horned-deer that faces to the left, attached by a white cloth. The figure holds two yellow disks. On the right, the man wears slightly different draping knickers with a wide-white waist band that has small orange toggles hanging off the front and a white flap off the back. He wears a blue mask with a white, abstracted face painted on. The mask has gold fabric attached at the top and bottom to represent hair and a beard. This right figure holds a small blue box with white design.Primary Object ClassificationPrintCollection AreaModern and ContemporaryRights
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Mayo (Native American style)
Odocoileus virginianus (species)
Yaqui (culture or style)
modern and contemporary art