Costume of Careto from Grijó de Parada and Rebordãos

The Careto from Grijó de Parada and Rebordãos is a vibrant masked character from the traditional winter festivities of Trás-os-Montes, Portugal. His costume is made of long woolen fringes in vivid colors - especially red, green, and yellow - accompanied by a fearsome mask, often with horns or exaggerated facial features, and heavy cowbells tied around the waist. During the celebration, the Careto runs energetically through the streets, leaping, rattling his bells, and playfully harassing villagers, particularly young women, in a ritual that mixes mischief with symbolic meaning. This performance, rooted in pre-Christian fertility rites, represents both the driving away of evil and the renewal of life at the turn of the year, making the Careto a powerful emblem of the region’s ancestral masquerade culture.