"El Colacho" is supposed to be the devil - which is why he gets the stylish outfit I guess - and his jump is supposed to rid the babies of original sin. It all takes place at the El Salto Del Colacho festival in Castrillo de Murcia, Spain. The traditional ceremony, celebrating the season of Corpus Christi, goes back to medieval times.
Since 1620 Castrillo de Murcia has celebrated Corpus Christi with a bizarre event that sees grown men leap over helpless babies, an act that is known as El Colacho. Dressed as the devil, carrying whips and sometimes truncheons, it is believed that as the incarnate devils jump they take all their evil with them and the children are cleansed.
The Catholic festival of Corpus Christi is celebrated all over Spain with processions, mystery plays and a wide variety of popular celebrations, but this one has to be the strangest. The shadowy brotherhood of Santísimo Sacramento de Minerva - the people responsible for organising the celebrations - also chase and terrorise anybody and everybody in the town at regular intervals throughout the day. Colacho Festival
Ain't religion grand? I'm glad I missed it. And I hope "El Colacho" missed the babies.
flickr photo
"El Colacho" is supposed to be the devil - which is why he gets the stylish outfit I guess - and his jump is supposed to rid the babies of original sin. It all takes place at the El Salto Del Colacho festival in Castrillo de Murcia, Spain. The traditional ceremony, celebrating the season of Corpus Christi, goes back to medieval times.
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