Medellin‘s fantastical history will come to life Wednesday December 7 under the city’s dazzling Christmas lights.
More than a thousand performers will fill the city’s major streets to celebrate the arrival of the festive seasons in the annual Parade of Dances, Myths and Legends.
The city’s stunning Christmas lights, which depict major city landmarks and moments of its history, will illuminate the procession – while three large orchestras will provide a live soundtrack.
The dancers will represent 11 traditional myths and urban legends from Latin American folklore, which all have their own Colombian twists.
“Patasola” is a beautiful woman whose husband cut off her leg to punish her for infidelity, leaving her to roam one-legged for eternity, devouring helpless men unlucky enough to cross her path.
“El Somberon” is a guitar-playing dwarf who sports a huge hat, who serenades women braiding their hair at night, trying to tempt them to follow him to become part of an army of lost souls.
“Ll Llorona” is the tortured soul of a woman who murdered her child – large, bony hands dripping with blood still clutch the rock she used to do the deed. Her wails haunt young women who are keeping secrets from their parents.
Most famous of all in Antioquia is “La Cura sin cabeza”, the headless priest who robs the mental faculties of all those who confess to him. According to Colombian legend, he’s the ghost of a man who was beheaded for witchcraft after revealing his Catholic faith to his village. The Medellin version is slightly more light-hearted — the priest was killed by his congregation for stealing Communion wafers.
This year’s procession has the new addition of 80 young people from the Castile community, who have been creating costumes and theatrical scenes in workshops for a display of myth and legends through the eyes of Medellin youth.
The parade starts at 7PM at the Pablo Tobon Uribe Theatre and descends down La Playa, continuing along Avenida Oriental until San Antonio Park. It then takes Carerra Junin until San Juan, finishing in Plaza de Cisneros at about 9PM.