Time Era

Historic time period: 1801–1861

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Map of the Caribbean.

Map of the Caribbean.

About Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is an island, which means it is completely surrounded by water. Have you ever been on an island? Puerto Rico is located many miles off the coast of Florida.

Many years ago, a gentleman named Teodoro Vidal became a collector in Puerto Rico. He traveled all over Puerto Rico collecting artwork, furniture, toys, and much more. He collected many of the carnival masks and santos that you will see in this activity guide.

Can you find Puerto Rico on the map above? Remember, Puerto Rico is an island, which means it is surrounded by water!

You can find out more about carnival objects in Lulu Delacre's book, Vejigante Masquerader.

Map of the Puerto Rico.
  • A place where Mr. Vidal collected carnival objects such as masks and costumes. These places are noted on the map above by a mask icon.
  • A place where Mr. Vidal collected santos. A santo is a wood carving of a saint or religious person in the Catholic Church. These places are noted on the map above by a statue icon.

Mr. Vidal collected objects because he wanted to share the history and culture of Puerto Rico with other people. In 1997, he gave some of his collection to the National Museum of American History, Behring Center, in Washington, DC.

You can learn more about collecting and making Carnival masks by downloading the activities on this Web site!

back to A Puerto Rican Carnival

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