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Portugal and Spain teamed up to share their ancient rituals in Portugal's Iberian mask festival, which ended in downtown Lisbon on Sunday.
The festival's main theme is the mask ritual and on Saturday the square teemed with color as over 500 people in 30 groups marched in vivid traditional masks made out of natural materials like wood, textiles and cork.
"This festival is unique, there is no other event in which masks take on this dimension," said organizer Helder Ferreira.
Ferreira said the masks represented different regions in Spain, Portugal and even in Brazil and Italy, and highlighted the meaning behind their colors.
"The masks are very symbolic because of the meanings the colors carry, like the red devil costume, for instance, which is black for darkness and red for strength," Ferreria said.
The 9th Iberica International Masks Festival took off on Thursday in the capital's downtown Rossio Square, with stands selling both national and Spanish artisan products and gastronomy, including cheese, olive oil and honey.
There were also tasting sessions and cooking shows with the presence of renowned chefs including the Portuguese Miguel Laffan, who recently gained a Michelin star.
Spanish chef Marcos Moran, who also has a Michelin, presented a typical "fabada" dish (bean stew) from the North of Spain.
Concerts by Spanish ska-punk band Skama la rede, Spanish folk star Kepa Junkera and Portuguese band Ginga brought cheering crowds and the festival also counted with animators, including Sidros de Valdesoto (From Asturias, north Spain), the group Mamuthones e Issohadores Pro Loco Mamoiada (Italy) and Gaiteros de Viana do Bolo (Spain).
Ferreira said around 500,000 people attended the event over the four-day period.
"The reaction from the public has been great. People just don't expect to find an array of rural traditions in a city like Lisbon", he said. "Many tourists traveled to Lisbon especially for the parade."
