In the first six days of every year, the town of Píllaro fills with devils — dancers in red-and-black masks of papier-mâché who leap, growl and crack whips through the streets to the music of village bands.
Photo: Martín Vasco, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ecuador’s entry in this atlas is the Diablada de Píllaro, held from 1 to 6 January in the canton of Píllaro in Tungurahua Province and declared part of Ecuador’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.
Diablada Pillareña
From 1 to 6 January, troupes of devils from the neighbourhoods of Píllaro dance through the town in masks of painted papier-mâché — a tradition said to have begun as a protest against colonial masters and preachers.
January 1 – 6, 2027Calculated