Miguel Moreira Alfaro was born in Barva, Heredia on January 15th, 1964.

He is a mask
maker, and is the leading exponent of this beautiful tradition in this town. He started
developing his first masks since he was a child, and even today he continues this tradition.
His childhood revolved quietly around a modest family. When he recalls his childhood,
different images of the coffee plantations come to his mind that gave a completely
different landscape to the village. He also reminds his parents who were the most
influential people at this important age because they were the ones who instilled values
and gave him a good education at home. As a child, curiously he was afraid of masks, not
imagining that later he would become a creator of what it was one of his major fears.
His primary education was at the school of his community, and he went to high school
only for the first year. His favorite subject was social studies, and as student he was
neither the most diligent in his class nor the worst. Socially, he was very communicative
and liked to make many friends.
The family is the most important aspect for Mr. Moreira; in fact, he defines the word
"family" as the best companion that anyone might have and the biggest support to
overcome each of the situations that may arise in life. The person he admires the most is
his daughter because although she is no longer in this world, he reminds her with great
love because she was very clever and dedicated to her studies.
In the field of politics, he says he would like a real change in each of the politicians
because nowadays they only seek their own welfare; today politicians are not interested
in finding solutions to the problems the country is facing. On one hand, he says not
remember any historical figure to admire; on the other hand, in the field of art, he
admires the painter from Heredia Hugo Sanchez because he is a follower of his work.
Mr. Moreira was a refrigeration technician before being a mask maker, and for some years
he performed the two jobs together; however, now he dedicates his whole time just to
the production of masks. He began in this profession when he was 9 years old by his own
initiative because at that time it was very difficult for children to get some masks because
these ones were usually given only to adults. Thus, it arises the concern to make his own
masks. He began to develop them of cardboard, and his first creation was a pig. Now he
uses the most modern techniques to achieve the best and most striking masks of the
village.
What he enjoys most about his job is the joy that his creations bring not only to people
from his town but also to others around the country. Thanks to his accurate work, he has
had great opportunities and awards. A few years ago, he won the first place in paper
masks; besides, he has been able to travel to different countries such as Panama, Spain

and Mexico to show his work. In Mxico, he had the best opportunity of his lifetime, when
in 2012 he went to the program "Amrica celebra a Chespirito" which was a tribute to this
Mexican comedian. He was invited to represent Costa Rica in this historic tribute that he
will never forget.
Nevertheless, not everything has been achievement or happiness in his life. In 2011, Mr.
Moreiras life took an unexpected turn. In August of that year during a family outing, he
suffered a terrible accident. A van that was traveling at high speed hit the back of the car
in which Mr. Moreira traveled with his wife and daughter. Unfortunately, his daughter
who was his only daughter and was only 25 years old died. He and his wife survived the
accident.
Through this difficult situation, he has learned the main lesson which is to value life more,
spend more time with his family, and enjoy every single moment with them because in a
second he experienced the largest pain of losing one of his most valuable treasures.
Mr. Moreira says that while God allows him to keep working, he will continue making his
masks that are his greatest passion, and at the end it is what people will remember about
him: the legacy of a tradition so typical for a town like Barva.