These rituals represented by the human being, in all the cultures of the world, have been the means of communication, the language, to speak and interact with the forces of Nature, with one objective: to help life to continue its unstoppable annual cycle of eternal return, in the words of the Romanian philosopher Mircea Eliade.

This pictorial work focuses on the winter rituals associated with the Winter Solstice, specifically those of the Iberian Peninsula, known here as “Mascaradas Invernales” (Winter Masquerades). Masquerades are rituals based on the purification and regeneration of the community and the surrounding nature. The basis is to remove the bad and attract the good, expel bad energies and attract fertility to augur a good coming year. They are performed after the winter solstice since this moment is considered as the rebirth of the sun, when the Light wins over the darkness and the moment of awakening arrives.