In parts of Colombia, black communities celebrate Christmas in February. A tradition from the time of slavery and a symbol of resistance.
Mirna Rodriguez, director of the festival, takes great care of the dark-skinned baby Jesus entrusted to her care. This baby doll, richly dressed, is at the heart of the celebrations organized every third Saturday of February in the village of Quinamayo (southwest).
At the time of slavery, the whites of Colombia forbade the blacks of the haciendas to celebrate Christmas at the same time as them on December 24, tell their descendants. In the 19th century, the displaced party became a tradition of black communities, which combines music, fireworks, theater, and costumes, around a religious imaginary: the child Jesus has disappeared.
“Our ancestors told us that they also celebrated it on this date because it was already the quarantine of Marie’s delivery, and Marie could finally go out to relax, because according to them when we gave birth, we couldn’t go out for 45 days, she had to take care of herself for 45 days,” Mirna explains.
Celebrating Christmas in February for these inhabitants was also partly due to the fact that their ancestors did not yet have their harvest pay, which was paid two months later.
Failing to find the right explanation, one thing is certain, the Adorations “combine Catholic beliefs, the fruit of evangelization, with rituals from Africa”.
Luis Miguel Balanta, the musician, never missed a single one of these celebrations:
“I’ve always taken part in this tradition, it comes to me from my parents, for example, my father is a singer here, my uncle is here, my aunts are here, it’s almost a family affair.”
As in all regions of Colombia with a past of slavery, poverty, and exclusion have left their mark in these departments on the Pacific coast. Blacks, about 20% of the population according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Cepal), have particularly suffered from the armed conflict that has undermined this country for more than half a century.