Mascaradas de Barva

Founded in 1934 by artisan Carlos Salas Cabezas, Barva de Heredia's mascarada tradition is recognised as one of the two defining Central Valley mascarada schools, distinguished by a Spanish-styled giant couple representing economic power and status. Barva's masked performers, known as mantudos, are locally famous for carrying inflated cattle bladders called vejigas, bursting them against the crowd in a genuinely participatory custom distinct from other Central Valley towns' mascarada traditions.

Barva de Heredia's mascarada tradition traces to 1934, when local artisan Carlos Salas Cabezas made his first masks there, establishing what became recognised as one of the two defining stylistic schools shaping mascarada craft across Costa Rica's Central Valley, alongside the separate Cartago-descended lineage practised in towns such as Aserri.