😅 Well, I was going to make a joke about counting down to the start of Navidad in MedellÃn, because decorations start showing up in stores around a week after Feria de las flores ends (so, early September), but... I literally got my first invitation to Nochebuena (the 24th is a big event here) this morning.
So it is ON baby.
Christmas is already here. 🤣🎄
(A very sweet old lady, always asking when I'll visit her for lunch in her barrio. I do need to take her up on this sometime.)
@MLClark Been meaning to ask ... Does Colombia celebrate DÃa de Muertos?
It does not; Mexico's culture around death iconography is distinct.
But funnily enough, even many of Mexico's celebrations are fairly new. A single scene in a 2015 James Bond film, featuring a grand DÃa de muertos parade, made potential tourists excited to see the "real" thing... which didn't exist! But the country leaned into the free advertising, and created such an event in subsequent years. Cultural appropriation yields weird outcomes sometimes!
@MLClark Thank you, and thank you for the link to the L.A. Times article.
Colombia does have Carnaval de Riosucio, in a neighbouring department. That's one of a few annual festivals for the devil here. (The big ones are Jan and July.)
It always makes me ruefully chuckle to see how credulously some people take these events. There is a deep fear of the Devil and Devil-worshippers among some highly religious locals.
(@AskTheDevil, you let me know if you show up for this some year, eh? @Jorro, something else to experience on a future trip?)
@MLClark @WordsmithFL @Jorro Ha ha! I do want to go of course, but I probably would not mention the Devil bit. I feel like people who are very superstitious might not have a nuanced view.