In Roberto de la Torre’s Documentary Photos, Yearly Masking Rituals Celebrate the Change of the Seasons
“Boteiros.” All pictures © Roberto de la Torre, shared with permission
In areas all through Europe, historic religions usually welcomed solstices and equinoxes by crafting elaborate clothes that evoked completely different factors within the agricultural cycle. Cumbersome fits of fur and conceal may reference the sluggish actions of winter’s dormancy, whereas the straw clothes related to the Tafarrón competition ask for fertility within the coming 12 months. Extra vibrant iterations with patterns and towering headdresses are generally known as boteiros, or the centuries-old clothes related to the carnivals of the Viana del Bollo area in Spain.
Capturing what stays of those seasonal celebrations is what drives Galicia-based photographer Roberto de la Torre, whose ongoing documentarian sequence Microcosmos data those that take part within the yearly rituals. “There’s little details about them, so I usually journey via these areas and ask the folks of the cities,” he tells Colossal. “It’s also analysis work. Going to the websites to have the ability to {photograph} the masks additionally means occurring a sure date. Many of those rituals are accomplished solely sooner or later a 12 months.”
Every swimsuit is only one aspect of a broader character with its personal title, talismans, shamanic references, and particular function inside the celebration. The clothes interpret the bodily situations of the land, and in his pictures, de al Torre intends to dissolve the boundary between the themes and their environment, as a substitute exposing the inherent, and sacred, connection between the 2. “In Microcosmos, I current a hierophantic panorama the place the legendary beings that construct the magical locations are manifested,” he says, referring to his photographs as “a visible sport between the tangible and the intangible in a bodily and pure setting, a heritage and cultural reminiscence that has treasured its uniqueness over the centuries.”
De la Torre is hoping to compile his pictures in a e book, and you may comply with information about that launch, together with extra of his documentary work, on Instagram.
“Oso”
“Oso”
“Bugallos”
“Tafarron”
“Samede”
“Chamador”
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