Historic time period: 1801–1861
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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.
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!