Serino, folklore in music: 'La Mascarata'

One of the most representative festivals of the Irpinia Carnival returns to Serino: 'the Mascarata'. A parade danced to a typical Serinese tarantella. Four appointments are scheduled, starting on January 28th and continuing on February 4th - 11th -13th.

Born in the hamlet of San Biagio, it is celebrated in the main hamlets of the municipality of Serino. The protagonists, dressed in the typical clothes of Mascarata folklore, celebrate a wedding, performing the traditional figures of Botta and 'Ndrezzata.

The groom and the bride are the main protagonists of the Mascarata being their wedding. the reason why the party and the dancing take place. The masks are made up of two men (as per tradition in commedia dell'arte) one small, thin and thin dressed as a groom and the other tall and robust dressed as a bride. Their physical disparity makes the couple ridiculous and funny who, during the dance, gives mimosas and confetti to the people watching the parade. The groom is accompanied by a "ladder" which is nothing more than a wooden tool which, thrown into the air, extends up to the balconies of the houses and allows the spouses to give flowers and confetti as a gift to those who are at home in return of an offer.

The music is directed by the leader, the "pim'ommo", the best and most beautiful in the dance, who wears a velvet suit with knickerbockers, shirt and waistcoat, and wears a hat with a plume.

The "beauties", or the women of the town, have a very simple dress which consists of a wide skirt in bright colors and a light-coloured blouse with embroidered finishes.

Outside the procession we find the "'mpacchiatrici", who organize and encourage dancing and celebrations. These are men dressed as women who wear wide colored skirts and wear a mask that hides their face. In their hands they have a "scoppetta", a rifle, which is loaded with powder which is then fired, with a breath, at passers-by.

The bride, who is always a man disguised as a woman, gives little bundles of fabric with wedding confetti inside, while the groom, generally a man with rough features, gives the ladies a sprig of mimosa.

Text translated by google translator