The Caretos de Podence, in the village of Podence, Macedo de Cavaleiros, in the Trás-os-Montes region, are the manifestation of an ancient tradition. Combining pagan, magical and religious elements, their origins date back to time immemorial. It is extraordinary and magical to witness the behaviour and actions of these caretos, with their diabolical and mysterious characters and dual personalities. During Carnival, dressed as caretos, men wear rudimentary masks made of leather or tinplate and colourful woollen costumes. The cowbells worn around their waists announce the figures’ arrival, with the colours of the outfits and masks—red, black, yellow and green—contrasting with the darkness of winter.
The ritual is characterised by the unique behaviour of these masked protagonists, the caretos. When ”on the loose” (usually for the three days of Carnival), the caretos run through the village streets with the main aim of jingling their bells at women. The oldest residents of the village recall that this festive tradition, also a time of socialising with neighbours, friends and family, used to be led by boys and single men whose target was always the girls and single women, thus giving the ritual a propitious function, as a rite of passage and erotic-sexual behaviour. With the aid of a stick or cane, the caretos, run and leap in groups, chasing and grabbing women and girls by the waist and jingling their bells, a prank known as chocalhadas. As a kind of erotic game, the chocalhadas elicit much laughter and glee among those watching the interaction between the caretos and the women, producing a festive atmosphere evoking ancient times and rituals. Podence Carnival differs from other carnival parades typical of urban areas, and is thus regarded as the most authentic carnival in Portugal.
The most important moments of Podence Carnival in- clude the caretos “on the loose”, the pretend Carnival weddings and Carnival Monday. They play a satirical role, the ritual unfolding as a moment of humour and social criticism that gives those involved full freedom to say whatever they like. On Shrove Tuesday, a procession culminates in the Carnival bonfire, on which a giant puppet, six metres tall, is burned at Eira do Careto. This act represents the expulsion of all evil and the purification of minds, but people say that this moment also symbolises a desire for winter to end and for spring to start by burning all that is bad and old, thus commencing a new cycle. On 12 December 2019, the “Podence Carnival Winter Festivities” were added to UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, at the 14th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, in Bogotá, Colombia.
António Carneiro
President of Casa do Careto
