A photograph of a larger-than-life mule “puppet” with a realistic head mounted on a burlap-covered neck and body, as it is carried by two people whose legs are visible beneath the boxy puppet, which is entering a performance space. — <i>Photo by Josep Maria Contel, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives</i>

Catalan Mulassa

Humble in dress but charismatic in presence, the Smithsonian mulassa—a mule known affectionately as “Smithy”—became a star of the Imaginaries Parade during the last two days of the 2018 Catalonia program. A clue to her special role is the fireworks attachment in her mouth.

An imaginary beast comes to life at the Festival

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Smithy steps onto the plaza to practice her moves alongside the giants.
Photos by Erin Younger, Smithsonian

Known for their stubbornness, mules-as-imaginary-beasts take on distinctive roles in community parades in Catalonia, and this one had the added role of interacting with a new audience in Washington, D.C. An important aspect of many of the mule beast characters is their ability to hold a fireworks attachment in their mouths—as do the dragons. After practicing her steps in the Plaça Major (central plaza) alongside the geganters (giants), Smithy made her performance debut on the last night of the Festival, spewing sparks at the correfoc (“fire-run”).

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Smithy participates in the Festival’s finale, July 7, 2017.
Photo by Pruitt Allen, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
Photo by Joe Furgal, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

Two of Smithy’s closest observers were members of the Festival’s staff: Cristina Díaz-Carrera, program co-curator, and Meritxell Martín i Pardo, research associate from Catalonia. Read their story of Smithy’s emergence under the direction of sculptor Miquel Grima Mora in “The Making of the Smithsonian Mulassa. ”

—Erin Younger, exhibition curator