Botarga (character)
The botarga is an ancient archetype, from Iberian mythology, which was incorporated into Catholic festivities as a representation of revelry and lust. They are traditional in different places in the North of Guadalajara, Spain, and as a Christian holiday it was transferred to Mexico and other enclaves of Latin America. It appears on the dates that precede Carnival, although there are some displaced to the summer period, possibly due to transhumance, given the rural nature of these characters. The botarga dances to the beat of the music and chases the neighbors to hit them with a club.
Their attributes vary depending on the area, but usually consist of a mask, brightly colored suit, tail and bovine genitalia. Sometimes they wear horns, and in their hand they always carry a whipping instrument, be it a whip, a club or, on occasions, castanets. He wears sandals and is usually accompanied by a cane in the other hand, with which they mark the rhythm when they appear together with dancers. Sometimes he wears a string of cowbells hanging from his belt. Other times, he appears hunchbacked. The costumbrista researcher José Ramón López de los Mozos conjectures that it is a "vegetable festival", a spirit of the forest, whose intervention, through his dances, allowed to achieve good harvests. The Valdenuño Fernández festival, with its "danza de paloteo", of which there is documentary evidence since 1721, has been recognized as being of "regional tourist interest".
Etymology
The term is an anthroponymic from the Italian actor of the 16th century, representative of the Commedia dell'Arte, Stefanello Bottarga, who dressed in masks and strident and very colorful costumes.