Thousands of Nicaraguans overflowed this Wednesday through the streets of the colonial city of León to celebrate the traditional “Gritería”, a popular religious festival in honor of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
The “Crying”, one of the most popular traditions in Nicaragua and which is commemorated every December 7, began at the main altar of the Royal and Insigne Cathedral Basilica of the city of León, 90 kilometers northwest of Managua. , with the traditional cry of “Who causes so much joy?”, to which the parishioners responded “The Conception of Mary.”
After that cry, the explosion of rockets, the dance of giant dolls and the touches of the marimba with philharmonic music gave an atmosphere of joy, revelry and color, which attracts national and foreign tourists who fanned out throughout the colonial city to sing to the virgin
The cry was in charge of the bishop of the diocese of León and Chinandega, Socrates René Sándigo, who encouraged the faithful to walk the streets of León to visit the altars that Catholic families install in honor of the Virgin Mary.
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The inauguration had a crowd that photographed the event in which dances, fireworks and lights were included.
The “Crying” consists of the faithful walking in groups through the streets of León, stopping before each altar of the Virgin they find in their path to sing songs, pray, and shout “Who causes so much joy?”, and respond “The Conception of Mary”.
In exchange for praying and singing, the parishioners, who mostly make the pilgrimage in families, receive sweets, fruits, pieces of sugar cane, the popular nacatamal (a typical Nicaraguan food) and in some cases small bags with rice, beans, sugar and other types of gifts in the midst of the burning of abundant gunpowder.
The protagonists of the pilgrimages, in some cases, are equipped with novenas to sing to the Virgin, sometimes even enlivened by philharmonic bands, and they also carry bags to fill them with the gifts they receive.
La “Gritería”, a religious and folk festival that is celebrated in the 153 municipalities of Nicaragua and in places where the Nicaraguan diaspora is important, such as Costa Rica and the United States, was born on December 7, 1857, just after the National War , when the American filibusters were driven out.
