The Bugiada e Mouriscada is the celebration of the beginning of summer in northern Portugal, and to bring on the season of São João and is always held on St. John’s Day (24 June). I was lucky enough to be invited to photograph this interesting and strong tradition. Over 1000 masked performers dressed in colorful velvet robes bring life to the ancient tradition, in a full day’s worth of festivities. The characters range from the formal dancers to the roguish characters to the satirical and chaotic. There’s a sense of inversion of normal activities - the “dinner” is in the morning, the horseman is mounted backwards, and the old man supposedly fixing shoes makes them worse! I found it definitely a fascinating cultural gem.