“Los Diablitos” with their colorful attire and “Las Inditas” with their folk costumes, returned this week to the streets of the municipality of Nandaime, department of Granada -south of Managua- where they celebrated the traditional procession in honor of the images of Santa Ana and San Joaquín, which had been suspended for two years due to the pandemic.
The religious festivities were held on Sunday the 24th and Monday the 25th of this month.
Unlike the executive headed by Daniel Ortega who called for massive events in the midst of a pandemic, The Catholic Church had made the decision to keep religious events that attract tourists canceled after the first cases of coronavirus were reported.
But religious events have been gradually resuming since last April, when the COVID-19 infection curve has been declining in the Central American country, which was criticized for the secrecy with which the government kept coronavirus cases.
Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said months ago that during the two years that Catholics had not been able to celebrate religious activities with all the solemnity, he pointed out that virtually “these years we have lived our closeness and our encounter with Jesus Christ.”
According to calculations by the Nicaraguan government, 244 people have died in the country since the start of the pandemic, but the independent Citizen Observatory records that they have been about 6,000 deaths from the new coronavirus.
parishioners overflow
The resumption of these religious events comes amid attacks on the Church and the arrest of priests. In fact, in the town of Nandaime he was arrested Father Manuel Garcia, who was sentenced to two years in prison by sentence issued by the local judge.
The religious was found guilty of the alleged crime of threatening with a weapon against five people.
In this context, the parishioners took to the streets in a show of support for the Church. Witnesses told the VOA that the presence of riot police was evident during the trajectory of the procession on July 24 as it headed to the La Orilla region, in Nandaime.
“They are looking for ways to prevent citizens from making any request for freedom due to the arrest of the priest Manuel Salvador García, who directed the Jesus de Nazareno church,” a local resident told the newspaper. voice of america by telephone, who avoided being identified for security reasons.
In the festivity, the typical outfits of “Los Diablitos” stood out, as well as “Las Inditas”, who danced for kilometers as a way of paying promises to local religious images, which they see as miraculous.
Alejandro Aguilar, 42, is one of those who has dedicated his life to dancing at these religious events.
The patron saint festivities in that city began on July 16 with the lowering of the images of Santa Ana and San Joaquín. During the homily, the parishioners asked for prayers for the priests defamed by the Ortega administration, especially for the religious Manuel Salvador García, arrested on June 1.
Other festivities
Other religious festivities are expected to continue normally this year. In August, the festivities in honor of Santo Domingo de Guzmán will be held in the Nicaraguan capital.
In these festivities various activities are carried out in honor of the image of Santo Domingo de Guzmán.
Religious festivities gradually resume in Nicaragua
This year the Catholic Church has gradually resumed religious activities, which it had suspended due to the pandemic for two years.
The Ortega government self-proclaimed the mayor of the religious festivals in Managua, the official mayor Reyna Rueda, without the decision receiving the endorsement of the church.
“The people of Managua have been looking forward to this party because people from other municipalities also come to enjoy these parties that the Managua Mayor’s Office is always supporting,” Rueda told the official media.
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