El Colacho, one of the 150 festivals recognized in Spain as “national cultural value”, is held every year in the second week of June. The person in the devil costume, called El Colacho, who gives the festival its name, jumps over the babies on the beds in the street, believing that they are protected from disease and evil.
In “El Colacho”, one of the 150 festivals held in Spain, babies placed on the beds in the street are knocked over in the belief that they are protected from disease and evil.“El Colacho”, one of the most interesting festivals in Spain, is held in the village of Castrillo de Murcia, with a population of 166, in the city of Burgos, located in the central regions of the country.The festival, held every year in the second week of June, features a person called “El Colacho” who gives his name to the event and who is believed to be the “devil” with the colorful costume that he wears and the mask that he wears, wanders the streets of the village with a whip in his hand.El Colacho is accompanied on the street by a black-cloaked band and a drummer during his tour.This all-day event ends with a religious ceremony, where babies are placed on beds in the streets of the village of El Colacho and jumped over them.It is believed that in the festival, first held in 1621, “El Colacho” chasing children in the streets, both protects the children from diseases and purifies them of evil every time he jumps over them with his whip .The festival, which has a pagan past but is adapted to the rules of the Catholic Church, like many other festivals in Spain, also sees jumping babies blessed by the village priest.The people of Castrillo de Murcia, which has an older population, said that only 1 baby was born in their village in the last year, yet nearly 100 babies from different parts of Spain are brought to El Colacho festival every year .Saying: “You will not find anyone from this village who has not eaten El Colacho’s whip or jumped over it as a baby”, the Spanish villagers see their children, who have emigrated from the village in recent years, more often thanks to this festival , and witness are of their grandchildren who experience the same tradition.Monse Balbas, who saw El Colacho and the children running with her grandchildren in front of her house, conveyed her feelings as follows: “This is a small place and it is getting more and more crowded these days. This festival, which is very dear to us, is also a source of joy and pride. Me, my children, my grandchildren all share these feelings. we are alive.”Inigo Dominguez, who has been at the festival in El Colacho for the past 7 years, said: “We are reviving the devil that symbolizes evil. The goal here is to purify children from evil every time we whip them or jump over it. babies.”Dominguez said he was caught off guard at this festival when he was a baby, and that his children carry on this tradition: “We are very proud to come from here and be part of El Colacho. We go to this party.”Simon Sanchez, who participated in the organization of the festival, said: “It is a very special festival for us. We prepare for it all year round. We are very happy with these events. from this village, but also from the surrounding villages, large cities or from different countries such as Germany.” said.El Colacho, a tradition of more than 400 years, is felt throughout the village of Castrillo de Murcia, which celebrates the festival by hanging hand-embroidered white curtains on the windows of their homes.
