In this excerpt, Chavarría shares cherished memories of his mentor, Celedonio Molinar, including seeing him “fly” from roof to roof as Major Devil. Chavarría also discusses important lessons and ritual practices that he learned from his mentor about performing the Major Devil role.
In this excerpt, Chavarría talks about the importance, for him, of playing the Devil character from “emotion” and his decision to break away from a particular ritual that marked his mentor’s embodiment of Major Devil.
In this excerpt, Chavarría discusses the process by which he became Major Devil in the Congo tradition of Portobelo, Panama.
In this excerpt, Chavarría discusses his particular style of “Devil” embodiment within the Congo tradition and the way others perceive of his performance. He also talks about the respect devils from outside of the community give to the devil of the town they are visiting. Each visiting devil must submit to the rules of the game as practiced by the local community.
In this excerpt, Chavarría talks about his choice to play the devil role in the Congo tradition and shares his memories of how he came to play the role for the first time as a school-aged boy.
In this excerpt, Chavarría discusses the ways in which the Devil’s mask initially captured his attention and the double perspective/participant-observer position that it provides.
In this excerpt, Ileana discusses the unique energy and magnetism that made Celedonio Molinar’s embodiment of the devil character within the Congo tradition of Portobelo, Panama so special.
In this excerpt, Solís discusses what she believes is the legacy of Celedonio Molinar, renowned Major Devil in the Congo tradition of Portobelo, Panama.
In this excerpt, Solís discusses the enchantment she felt the first time that she witnessed Celedonio Molinar performing the role of Major Devil, the baptism of the devils, and how she learned about the performance traditions of Portobelo, Panama.
In this excerpt, Jiménez talks about the participation of other family members in the Congo tradition, including an older brother who has performed the role of Pajarito and a younger brother who has performed the role of devil. His father, Andrés, also performed in the role of priest in the Congo tradition and, like him, was trained in his role by Celedonio Molinar.