Allison Martinez Arocho is an artist and folklorist from Borikén (Puerto Rico). She experiments with acrylic paints, and mask-making out of coconuts, clay, ceramics, and other mixed media. Alli is mostly self-taught, though a couple master artisans from Puerto Rico have shared knowledge of their craft with her.

The main character of Allison’s work is the Vejigante mask. Vejigantes are folkloric characters who are symbols of resistance to assimilation due to colonization. They are also a metaphor for the upbeat and humorous nature of the Puerto Rican spirit. Alli’s work represents an attempt to capture and reconnect with her Puerto Rican heritage in the context of the diaspora that she embodies. She often overlays nostalgic and familiar images on the masks in an attempt to resonate with other people, especially Latin American folks who, like her, have left their homeland and still romanticize it.

Allison can bring a variety of projects to groups including mask making, sculpting with clay, other kinds of Puerto Rican folk art such as “casita” dioramas, papier mache masks and crafts, sewing a Vejigante collar, sewing rag dolls, block printing Puerto Rican style posters, and Vejigante mask painting. She has been a participating artist at the Living Traditions Festival and taught workshops on Vejigante masks for groups throughout Utah.