The Mask as a Privilege Continuities and Adaptations in Cantabria's Vijanera

The Vijanera is a traditional winter mask festival celebrated every year in the small village of Silió in Cantabria, a region located on the northern coast of Spain. This ritual drama features colorful handmade costumes representing animals, mythological creatures, comic characters, and figures characteristic of rural agrarian society. Historically, local variants of the Vijanera were celebrated in different localities throughout the Cantabrian valleys, but today most of these celebrations have disappeared or acquired new meanings. The practice of the Vijanera still thrives in Silió, where it was revitalized in the 1980s by local practitioners. As a ritual of renewal marking the transition from one year to the next, the festival embodies a series of values and meanings. It is a community celebration representing local identity and culture, while also serving as an attraction for heritage tourists. Several researchers have studied the Vijanera from various perspectives. Their publications help to reconstruct the history, main characteristics, uses, meanings, and significance of this festival, which has undergone transformations and adaptations. The visual aspects of this ritual drama have received the most attention, while music and sound have only been mentioned occasionally by authors who recognize their importance. The aim of this article is to examine the Vijanera from an ethnomusicological perspective, drawing on archival and online research as well as on my own fieldwork. I focus on key processes in the development of this festival in Silió and draw attention to the soundscape as an indispensable part of the celebration, which I examine here in a preliminary manner and which warrants more detailed study in the future.