- Careto
The careto is a
carnival tradition from NortheasternPortugal , namely in the village of Podence inMacedo de Cavaleiros municipality. These are masked young man in a suit made of green, red and yellow tatters, with a wooden mask and clappers in the belt.The clappers are used to jingle in passing people, if it is a woman, a group of caretos jingles gently in the girl, if it is a man, and he jingles with bad behaviour and occasionally hunting the person.
The careto's origin lies in an ancient
celt ic tradition, thus pre-Roman, and it marks the end of the winter and the arrival of the heat and sunny days, thus better crops.External links
* [http://www.accessibleportugal.com/revista/2007/February/caretos.html Careto´s article] Article by Cátia Pinheiro in Accessible Travel Magazine, February 2007
* [http://www.bragancanet.pt/arte/podence.html Carnival of Podence] (in Portuguese)
* [http://caretosdepodence.no.sapo.pt Endless energy of the Caretos] (in Portuguese)
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