VEJIGANTE MASQUERADER
by Lulu Delacre & illustrated by Lulu Delacre
The monthlong Carnival celebrations in Ponce, a coastal town in southern Puerto Rico, as experienced by a boy who lives in a very modest barrio. Secretly, Ram¢n has made a costume and ordered a colorful, grotesquely horned papier-mÉchÇ mask so that he can join the other boys and men who travel the streets, playing tricks on bystanders. These masqueraders are named for the balloon-like vejigas they carry—brightly painted, inflated cows' bladders, sometimes filled with pebbles or beans to create noisemakers. Ram¢n's story is affectingly told in both English (black) and Spanish (blue), with bright, mixed-media pictures; what's lacking is any explanation of Carnival or the origin and significance of the devil-like masqueraders, or why—only in Ponce—the vejigantes frolic for an entire month. Several pages at the end contain information about other masqueraders in Spain and Latin America, directions for making a vejigante mask, and some of the vejigantes' chants; an added fillip is the inclusion of 28 well-hidden lizards (one for each February day) in the pictures. Admirable in bringing an unfamiliar custom to life, but without enough background to fully understand it. Short glossary; bibliography. (Picture book. 5-8)