Virtual Museum

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The Serpent

Wearing masks that are finely carved and painted to resemble Caucasian skin, with blue eyes, often made of glass, young men in the state of Tlaxcala perform the dance of the Serpent during the time of Carnival. They wear elegant suits, leather chaps, elaborately embroidered capes and large hats with feathers. The long whips represent the serpent, a deity propitious for rain and fertility of the earth.