If you want to dress up as the devil and participate in an ancestral holiday meant to repudiate and mock the devil, you can visit Pillaro for La Diablada de Pillaro. In Santiago de Píllaro, thousands of people dress in the well-known Diablada Pillareña. This festival runs from January 1st to January 6th every year and gathers all of the Pillaran people. Anyone can participate, locals, foreigners, men, women, young, old, and those of any social status. If you have a devil disguise you are welcome to join the festivities.
This holiday gained popularity in 2009 and has since grown as it incorporates more communities and “devils.” The masks are created using a mold to which several layers of couché paper soaked in paste are attached. The mask is then left in the sun to harden. Next, you can add the horns and teeth of different animals and finally the masks are colored. Several months before the festival the town searches for the band of musicians that will accompany the dancers. The devils dance to the band and follow the rhythms of sanjuanitos, saltashpas, tonadas, and pasacalles to gain power over that which they fear, the devil.