El Colacho — the devil's jump over babies
Traditional ritual — Feast of God · Castrillo de Murcia, province of Burgos, Spain
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The festival
A devil in red and yellow suit jumps over mattresses where the babies of the village sleep: welcome to Castrillo de Murcia. Since the 1620s, this ritual of the Feast of God — El Salto del Colacho — is supposed to purify the infants born in the year of original sin and protect them from misfortune: the Colacho runs through the streets symbolically whipping passers-by, leaping over babies lined on mattresses, who are then blessed and sprinkled with petals.
The ritual is carried by the Cofradía del Santísimo Sacramento de Minerva, the brotherhood founded in Castrillo in 1621, which has been organizing the festival for more than four centuries without interruption — the festival is declared of tourist interest of Castilla y Leon. On the day of the jump, the Eucharistic procession descends from the church Santiago Apóstol and runs through the village: the houses are lined with their most beautiful attires, flower altars mark the route, the girls who made their first communion in the year throw flowers on babies, and the atabalero — drum and high hat — opens the march to the sound of an ancestral rhythm. After the procession, the whole village is found in the "eras" for Castillan dances, the speech of the atabalero, then the wine, the cheese of Sasamón and the bread offered by the archicofradía de Minerva.
According to SpainOnFoot, no injured baby would ever have been reported.
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The festival in images
Official photos of the festival, published on the official page of El Colacho of the site of the town hall of Sasamón (sasamon.burgos.es), a municipality on which Castrillo de Murcia depends.
Good to know
Parish and village festival carried by the Cofradía del Santísimo Sacramento de Minerva (archicofradía de Minerva), founded in Castrillo de Murcia in 1621 — declared of tourist interest of Castilla y León, it is held on Sunday following the Corpus Christi (Wednesday Day of the Corpus on the following Monday). No official website dedicated to the festival; no official public attendance. Contact of the brotherhood: under verification — no official email published has been confirmed. Photo credit of the sheet: © Noe Serna — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In our articles
To see around the festival
- Santiago Apóstol Church of Castrillo de Murcia — the Gothic and Renaissance temple from which the procession started, with its caracol staircase of the XVIe century and his Gothic Christ.
- Burgos Cathedral — Gothic masterpiece listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the provincial capital.
- Atapuerca deposits — UNESCO (2000) prehistoric site, at the oldest human fossils in Europe, near Burgos.
- Covarrubias — medieval village of Arlanza, historical and artistic ensemble, "cradle of Castilla".
Liens officiels
Village festival without a dedicated site: its official page is that of the town hall of Sasamón, a municipality on which Castrillo de Murcia depends.