The festivities of San Juan and San Pedro are not just any celebration in Colombia, they are loaded with mythology, food, dances, typical costumes and bambucos, a traditional and popular dance of Tolima Grande, a region that includes Tolima and Huila in the center of the country.
“These festivities have been celebrated for many years, they are very traditional in our department and we want to share with all the people of our country and of course those who also accompany us, these tourists who come internationally to join us now from June 23 until on July 3,” he told the voice of americaYenid Ureña, social manager of the municipality of El Espinal, Tolima.
These festivities, which are traditionally held in the months of June and July in both departments, date back to colonial times where they were born for religious purposes, but became popular in the 1960s as a way to “heal” the wounds of the violence that marked that date in that region through the typical dances that surround this festival.
These violent episodes generated a cultural reaction from the inhabitants of the municipalities as a counterweight to the social situation of the moment.
“I have been personifying San Pedro for 43 years, taking this message of joy to Colombia and the whole world with the character, showing a message of cultural roots that represents a lot for us, because he, San Pedro, is ours, it is a great and very typical of us”, recalls Augusto Cervera Castañeda.
As a result of this social crisis, the festival was consolidated over the years with art and culture as protagonists and began to take the names of the San Juan Folk Festival in Tolima, and in Neiva, as the San Pedro Folk Festival.
At the same time, these names are loaded with pageants, parades, folkloric parades and a lot of culture, which is enjoyed by more than 500,000 national and foreign tourists who come to these festivities every year.
“The expectation is always to be better and move forward every day, to be able to project our festivities that we have in our country, those carnivals that by tradition we have been celebrating for many years, such as San Pedro, where many people always participate,” Ureña told the VOAabout these parties that on the holidays of July 1, 2 and 3 is where they most take a festive path.
“Tolima is a department rich in culture, we also have the musical capital of Colombia, Ibagué. In the municipality of El Espinal we celebrate our traditional San Pedro, they are definitely a festival not to be missed, to enjoy, to accompany us, so we are rescuing our folklore”, added Ureña.
In this way, the streets of these departments are filled with color, music and typical dishes that adorn the celebration.
To the sound of Sanjuanero and Bambuco
These two dances -the sanjuanero and the bambuco- always mark the beginning of the two festivities, San Juan and San Pedro. Throughout history, the participants who come to compete in these two events prepare hard to give their best version in these exhibitions, to exalt music, costumes and traditional knowledge through dance.
“At these festivities, our famous party bambuco is always danced, with songs like ‘Contrabandista’ and the ‘Sanjuanero huilense’ that are represented with a poncho, a rooster’s tail, a long skirt and a knitted hat,” says Ureña, about the costumes with which these dances are danced.
That is why, in these festivities where people of all ages participate, the inhabitants highlight the peasant traditions so that they remain in the memory of natives and foreigners, who will live the 142 editions of San Pedro and the 62 version of San Juan that end July 3.
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