The WonderMask Pilgrimage

Presented at the Chicago Cultural Center
Part of Potential Energy: Chicago Puppets Up Close
Curated by Grace Needlman and Will Bishop
In collaboration with the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival

The WonderMask Pilgrimage is a processional performance by Alonso Galue that merges ancestral ritual with contemporary public intervention. Donning a towering mask handmade from cardboard and tape, Galue transforms Chicago’s urban landscape into a moving stage—one where myth, memory, and resistance converge.

Rooted in Andean cosmology and Latin American protest traditions, the pilgrimage traverses the city’s cultural landmarks. At each site, the procession pauses for acts of storytelling and symbolic offering, turning everyday spaces into sacred ground. The mask, more than a costume, becomes a guide—embodying displacement, survival, and the lingering hopes of those forced to migrate.

Audiences are invited to walk alongside the masked figure, witnessing a ritual that blends the sacred and the political. Each step echoes the silences of exile and the resilience of community.

The masks featured in the performance were created during the Studio Sundays Mask-Making Workshop led by Alonso Galue, where participants designed their own mythical beings. These collaborative creations brought diverse voices and spirits to life within the pilgrimage.

Mask Creators & Characters

  • Mike – The Crying Coyote

  • Benji Rivera – Roele Phantom

  • George Larson – Lardo

  • Toni Maugeri – Crow

  • Jason Greenberg – The Spirit of Tragedy

  • Wendy Madrigal – Bunny

  • Alonso Galue – Bochica, The Prophet of the River

  • Alma Roccella – The Baby Monster

Performers

  • George Larson – Lardo

  • Mike Tripllit – The Crying Coyote

  • Eric Mercure – The Crying Coyote

  • Benji Rivera – Roele Phantom

  • Yeison Perez – The Trickster God

  • Jason Greenberg – The Spirit of Tragedy

  • Wendy Madrigal – Bunny

  • Alonso Galue – The Prophet of the River

  • Luna Rail – Crow

The WonderMask Pilgrimage was presented as part of Potential Energy: Chicago Puppets Up Close, curated by Grace Needlman and Will Bishop, coordinated by Ashwati, and co-presented by the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival.