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In this photo taken on Sunday, February 15, 2015 a girl runs away from a “Mamuxarro” during the carnival, in the small town of Unanu, northern Spain. While Rio de Janeiro may boast the world’s most famous carnival, the festive period of masquerades and wild and colorful costumes that precedes the Christian religious season of Lent is also a permanent and popular fixture for celebration in Spain and Portugal, with each country having its own strange and unique way of doing it. In the northern Spanish ancient village of Unamu, people dress up as “Mamuxarro”, folkloric figures in white with a red sash and a metal mask to cover their faces as they pursue townsfolk with sticks. According to custom, their “victims” (usually young women) must kneel and kiss the mamuxarro’s knee after he makes the sign of the cross on their forehead. (Photo by Alvaro Barrientos/AP Photo)
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