The oiled devils came out to have fun and dance for the last time this year, filling the streets of San Martín Tilcajete, a Zapotec municipality located in the Ocotlán Valley, with music and mischief, one day before the start of Lent 2026.
It is a tradition that has been around for decades in the town, in which its inhabitants, mainly young people, paint their bodies with motor or vegetable oil, put on cowbells around their waists and masks, and go out into the streets, shouting, running, and dancing for fun.
For the inhabitants of this town, the presence of the oiled devils in the streets also heralds the beginning of Lent, and since it is a deeply rooted tradition, many people set aside their activities either to participate or simply to go out and watch the devils.
For Víctor Fabián, a local artisan who makes alebrijes, this is an important tradition in which artists carve their own masks, overflowing with emotions that they can’t always express in everyday life, but on this day, they can share them.
“This Tuesday, we do what we want,” noted Efraín Fuentes, who emphasized that today they go out to have fun, and tomorrow they will go to church to receive ashes, as Catholic tradition dictates.
Source: jornada
