This article presents an ethnographic approach to the Fiesta de los Martines of San Andrés de Píllaro, Tungurahua Province, Ecuador. The Martines, also known as Monos, are groups of costumed participants who perform games and playful acts from December 26 to 31 each year while collecting money and supplies for the burning of the año viejo (Old Year effigy), which takes place on the final day of the year. The study employs an autoethnographic methodology that included prior training for the festive participants, who were incorporated into the research as co-authors because their experiences, memories, questions, inquiries, and fieldwork formed the foundation of the research process. The ethnography found that this celebration, deeply rooted in San Andrés, originates as an Inocentes festivity and culminates in the ritual burning of the año viejo. This ritual strengthens and legitimizes symbolic kinship ties among the groups of costumed participants while facilitating the distribution and redistribution of symbols, power, and prestige within the parish communities.
