El Baile del Toro y de la Mula in the village of Térraba

From December 24 to January 2 each year, the village of Térraba devotes itself to the Dance of the Bull and the Mule. The village stopped doing this traditional festival about 25 years ago because of pressure from churches, but for the last ten years, they have found that the dance gives meaning to their lives and they no longer feel that they have to choose between their churches and their mission to revive their culture.
Each of the young men who perform the dance carve their own masks eah year, and take on the qualities of the animals and spirits that their masks represent.
One of the "grandmothers" of the Térraba oversees the preparation for the dance. The animals and spirits (parrot, goat, jaguar, eagle, boa constrictor, etc) go down to the river in search of the Bull. They drink the sacred chicha. "Everyone is equal when we drink chicha", says Asdrubal Rivera, who is largely responsible for encouraging the young men of the village to revive the celebration. At dusk the dancers sound the conch shell, and they all enter the village and whirl around the Bull, taunting him. He goes after them. Flutes, drums and shouts accompany the dance. The dancers go from house to house, where they eat tamales and drink chicha from 6 until about 10 p.m. each night. The popularity of the celebration has grown so that there are around 50 dancers each night.
You can accompany them as they make their rounds of the village. Contact beatrice@keytocostarica.com (that's me in the photo.