Wearing flamboyant costumes and masks imitating blue-eyed, bearded Europeans, carnival-goers in Mexico have turned mocking colonizers into an art form.
The colorful celebration stands out from hundreds of other carnivals in Latin America by rekindling the spirit of revenge against erstwhile invaders.
Each year, men in wooden masks playing the role of light-skinned Europeans dance through the streets of Tlaxcala, one of Mexico's smallest states, located 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of the capital Mexico City.
Many sport carefully-trimmed beards resembling those of Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, while others have mustaches.
Women wear the flowing dresses and elaborate hats of European ladies centuries ago.
The aim is to "mock the invaders... especially their customs and habits, which for the people of Tlaxcala were very effeminate," tourist guide Eduardo Cuautle Xochitemotl said beneath a mural depicting local history.
The Tlaxcalans allied with Cortes to capture the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan -- today Mexico City -- in 1521.
While their collaboration assured them certain privileges, the Tlaxcalans still faced exclusion by powerful Spanish landowners.
"At the time when we were conquered, the big haciendas held huge parties with music and dance, which we, the indigenous people, could not enter," said dancer Carlos Gomez Vazquez.
And in modern-day Mexico, centuries-old foes are not the only subjects of ridicule.
"Nowadays the tradition is to mock today's politicians," Xochitemotl said.
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© Agence France-Presse
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