Carnival Costume Smithsonian's History Explorer

This homemade costume was made for the Ponce carnival. It has a cape attached at the neck made from the same black and red striped fabric (black and red are the colors of the city of Ponce). Carnival participants who wear costumes like this one, in addition to a mask, and other carnival accoutrements like matching shoes, canes, and gloves, are called vejigantes. Vejigantes are famous for playfully swatting at carnival-goers with a vejiga, a dried, inflated bladder. When a real animal bladder in not available, an empty water bottle is an acceptable substitute.

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