The men and children also labor to create their Gigante costumes,also sometimes called monos. Monos are constructed from papier mache, wire hoops and other materials, then painted and clothed in all manner of interesting personae. The finished structures, which can be as much as double the height of the wearer, are worn over the shoulders, with a small opening in the belly for the dancer to see where he is going. Stamina, strength and grace are required to perform these whirling dances, which can last for many hours. Download this little video clip and see and hear it for yourself. If your media player doesn't support .avi files, this can be viewed with the free Winamp player, which is available here.

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