Spanish Baby-Jumping Festival

// added August 30, 2008 // 8 comments //
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unclepete

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http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,575011,00.html

The Spanish town of Castrillo de Murcia doesn't need running bulls or even booze to have fun. Just give them some mattresses, a bunch of babies and a handful of fun-loving guys -- dressed up like devils -- and you've got yourself a fiesta.

If you've ever lived within earshot of a newborn child, it's no stretch to imagine they can have something devilish inside. The inhabitants of the northern Spanish town of Castrillo de Murcia have developed an ingenious technique for exorcising seemingly innocent children. Just spread them on mattresses in the middle of the street, and have a bunch of demons leap over them.

This baby-leaping tradition is part of the El Colacho festival, which has reportedly been held in this town since 1620, though its origins are obscure. The event happens every year as part of the festivities associated with Corpus Christi, a Christian feast day that falls on a Thursday between late May and June.

The festival is organized by the brotherhood of Santísimo Sacramento de Minerva, whose members assume the two main roles associated with the festival: those of el Colacho and el Atabalero. El Colacho, who represents the devil, is dressed in a bright yellow and red outfit and mask, and el Atabalero wears a black suit and a sombrero and goes through the town with his large drum.

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