Towering Puppets

The raw materials are simple: cardboard, newspaper, a little glue, paint. The result: brilliant festival puppets up to 24 feet tall.

“It’s a papier-mache circus when the puppet show comes to town,” said artist Tony Dominguez, who is making the puppets for Pasadena’s Cinco de Mayo festival.

He begins with a wood frame and then cuts and shapes cardboard to form the face, body and limbs. Layers of glue-soaked newspaper wrap the cardboard. The final touch is brightly colored paint.

Invented in China, the art of papier-mache was taken to Europe with the silk traders, and then introduced to the New World.

Dominguez brings his style of puppet making from Mexico, where festival puppets are used to celebrate holidays and religious events.

At his Arte Calidad workshop in East Los Angeles, Dominguez and his 10 young employees are creating nearly two dozen puppets for the event outside Pasadena City Hall.

His puppets also are displayed at schools, community events and festivals and have been used at concerts and on movie sets.

“We just want people to see and enjoy the puppets,” he said.