"People without knowledge of their past, their origin and their culture are like a tree without roots".
Marcus Garvey
In the style of @galenkp and his Weekend - Experiences
Downhill weekend with the Palmeros de Chacao. Caracas - Venezuela
This is a party in the streets of my city.
The weekend is here and I come to ask you to join me to enjoy the "Bajada de Los Palmeros de Chacao". This is a tradition in my country - Venezuela and it happens every year in the capital city - Caracas since the 1700s.
Unstoppable, only the pandemic, suspended this tradition and the story in summary, goes that in those years of 1770, when the yellow fever epidemic arrived, the priest of the church in Chacao, as a petition for healing, asked some members of the population to go up to the mountain to look for palms, as a way to remember the arrival of Jesus to Jerusalem, then the day before Palm Sunday these people had to arrive with the palms to the church to have them ready to celebrate the mass of "Palm Sunday". Soon this continued to happen and as a tradition it became a universal cultural heritage declared by UNESCO. That consideration places this tradition in assuming a great commitment.
This Saturday I returned to accompany "Los Palmeros de Chacao", they come down from the mountain of the National Park "Waraira Repano", formerly called "Cerro El Avila", a great mountain that crosses the city and is considered the lung of my city Caracas.
The vestments read: PALMEROS DE CHACAO UNIVERSAL HERITAGE
The route of the descent of Los Palmeros, was accompanied by different cultural manifestations of the country, that along the way that goes from the mountain, through the streets of Chacao, happens a kind of celebration enlivened by these cultural manifestations that I speak to you, then, in each corner of these streets a meeting happened and they began to play their joyful music to celebrate the descent, It all started with "La parranda de San Pedro" one of the cultural expressions that is a festivity that also occurs in the State of Miranda in Venezuela in which their representations are painted black face and allegorical to a wake of a religious image here happens the singing and dancing.
Also among the traditional groups were the members of the parranda of the Child Jesus of Guatire - Miranda State - Venezuela. It is also a celebration of the believers that takes place every year and they play a parranda in celebration, here were revived songs and aguinaldos that accompany the custom.
Today that tour was beautiful, I observed in a very nice way the incorporation of children and young people to sustain the tradition, because Los Palmeros is renewed with new generations.
In the streets the celebration and dancing continues and the people of the drums of Curiepe could not be missing. Curiepe is a town that every year also makes a celebration and today I was delighted with the sonorous energy of the drums and their songs, these drums are offered in devotion to San Juan Bautista, the mine that are the drums and the ringing of that percussion makes us remember the celebration of San Juan, resignifies for us a cult of abundance, it is a magical party and remember this is a tradition with rhythms in which always the characteristic dance of the drum is contagious while it is executed. Here my daughter, made her finery as a dancer and enjoyed the repique in honor of the palmeros by the drummers of Curiepe.
On this road I met my dear friend from my Biodanza studies who was also accompanying me with the "Calipso del Callao".
I said goodbye with this meeting until next year which will surely come another weekend, because remember that this tradition happens on the Saturday before Easter so this weekend will be perpetuated.
