Shrovetide in Lazarim

Lazarim is a town in the municipality of Lamego, which is located 12 kilometers from the city of Lamego. It has around 500 inhabitants, but during Shrovetide the floating population far exceeds this number.

Considered one of the most traditional carnivals in Portugal, its origins are lost in time. The real ex libris of this carnival are the masks worn by caretos and senhorinhas. Carved by local artisans in alder wood, they display grotesque, zoomorphic figures, devils or witches.

The festivities, which last four days, begin on the Saturday before Carnival. During these days, there are parades of caretos and senhorinhas from Lazarim, visits to artisans and seamstresses and the photographic raid. In the stalls located on the street, traditional sweets and masks made by local artisans are sold.

On Shrove Sunday, the parade takes place with local caretos and with invited caretos and groups, which ends with the Burning of the Old Donkey, a sculpture, in the shape of that animal, made of sticks, broom and burlap.

The most awaited day is Shrove Tuesday. On that day, the caretos come out with new masks. In the middle of the afternoon, the wills of Godmother and Godfather are read. During the year, the boys write the girls’ wills and they write theirs. The texts are written in a mocking and satirical tone. After the final parade, the Godmother and Godfather dolls are burned. It is then time to serve those present a bean stew and a flour broth, which were prepared during the day in iron pots. Next year there will be more.

The photographs were taken with two Leica bodies: an R5 and an R6, fitted with an Elmarit 35/2.8 and a Summilux 50 mm/1.4. Both lenses were fitted with B+W medium yellow 022 filters. For flash photography, I used a Metz 32 Z-2. The film used was the Foma 400 Action, an inexpensive but high-quality alternative to the Kodak and Ilford equivalents.

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