At Bemposta, an anonymous demon-like figure runs through the streets at dawn, the legend says it’s cursed to beg an offering at each house for trying to tempt Our Lady (one of those sacred versus pagan so common in these traditions). No one is meant to know who’s behind the mask, whoever he is he surely paid a hefty sum to wear it. But that mask, and the rest of the costume, is covered with pagan symbolism, like the serpent, the oranges and the horns that hold them, and all that can be linked to the fertility rituals where these traditions came from, which have a different meaning that the one Christianity try to give it. This is one of the festivities of the Mirandese Plataeu that can be seen on my latest blog post.

      Bemposta, Trás-Os-Montes, Portugal  🇵🇹, January 2020 #portugal #trasosmontes #wintersolstice #chocalheirodebemposta  photos.joaoalmeidaphotography.com/image/I00…