This is how Holy Week in Guamal, Magdalena: History, Traditions and Event Programming

From April 13 to 20, Colombia commemorates Holy Weekone of the most representative religious celebrations in the country. During these days, thousands of people participate in liturgical acts, processions, representations and other manifestations of faith that bring together entire communities around the Catholic tradition.

This week not only has a spiritual component, but also cultural, since it constitutes a key moment of the national calendar in which religion, heritage and collective identity converge.

Throughout the Colombian territory, Many municipalities have turned Holy Week into an emblematic expression of its local history. Some of the most recognized places for the magnitude and organization of these celebrations are Popayán, considered Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO; Mompox, with its traditional night processions; Pamplona, ​​with its liturgical fervor; and Tunja, where solemnity is mixed with colonial sacred art.

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Among the municipalities that They have gained recognition for their way of living Holy Week is Guamal, in the department of Magdalena. This town is located in the south of the department, on the banks of the Magdalena River, already approximately five and a half hours of Santa Marta road, the capital.

Guamal is a municipality that stands out for its culture, as it has as emblem the cumbia and is the adoptive land of teacher Julio Cuevas, one of the most important composers of Colombian music. Likewise, it has been enhanced as a tourist destination, thanks to the improvement of the access roads and their landscapes, because It is bathed by several surrounding marshes, ideal for ecotourism lovers.

Holy Week It has been adopted by the inhabitants of Guamal as one of the most important events of the yearit is a tradition that comes from several decades ago. In dialogue with RCN Radio, Jhon Chiquillo, coordinator of the Association of Nazarenes of Guamal (Asonazarenos), gave details of this week’s meaning for the municipality.

“Our Holy Week depends on the neighboring municipality of Mompox. Before the Guamaleros were going to pay their commands there, but following the violence between liberals and conservatives, many stopped going and preferred to hire an Italian who was in Mompox, a sculptor, to elaborate some images. We started by the passage of the sentence, and then they took the passage of the penance or Jesus carrying the cross. Guamal is a town full of faith, it can currently be said that there is direct communication between the Nazarene and the religious events that belong to the Our Lady of Carmen parish. We have reached the point of saying that it is a religious cultural tradition rooted in the municipality, “he says.

Guamal programming in Holy Week

The president of Assonasarenos, Alberto Ávila, says that a few years ago in Guamal only activities were carried out on Thursday and Good Friday, however, with the passing of time, Activities have been developed throughout the week.

“On Sunday the traditional procession of Ramos Domingo is done, Monday at 7:00 pm There is also a procession Jesús Ecce Homo. On Tuesday, the Virgen de las Angustias, and on Wednesday, which is the lighting to the cemetery, where a tribute is paid to the deceased companions. On Holy Thursday, it is not only part of the processional at night, but from 12:00 pm there is a penitential part where the Nazarenes make the 14 stations through the different streets of the municipality, ”says Ávila.

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On Good Friday a viacrucis will be held in the morning hours around the central church, at 3:00 pm it will be the sermon of the 7 words and the worship of the Holy Cross. After 7:00 pm it will be the procession of the Holy Sepulcher, which would be the burial. “On Good Friday any number of Nazarenes come, such as in 2010, which came to have 1,116 Nazarenes,” he recalls.

What is a Nazarene?

One of the aspects that most characterizes Holy Week in Guamal, It is the amount of Nazarenes who accompany the ceremonies. According to Alberto Ávila, a Nazarene is a “penitent”, someone who wants to pay a debt or a pending favor.

“When someone has a calamity or necessity, our Lord Jesus of the Nazarene is entrusted, He makes the request and becomes Nazareno to pay the favor he has already received. They already fulfilled his promise, then he decides to pay it, ”explains the president of Asonazarenes.

To be Nazareno in Guamal, it is necessary where discipline is fundamental.

Within the responsibilities is to accompany the processionswhich can be quite exhausting, as they can be extended for several hours maintaining a march at a fixed pace, while the religious statues carry.

“In Guamal we use two types of robe, a blue tonic and a purple tunic: the blue is used on Holy and Morada Thursday, which is already the mourning, it is used on Good Friday,” says Alberto.

Guamal receives visitors from all over the world during Holy Week

In recent years, Guamal, Magdalena, has been taking strength as a destination to live the traditions of Holy Week. This municipality brings together visitors not only from the interior of the country, but also people from abroad.

“There are people who have come to pay send directly from the United States. In 2007 or 2008, a mother came to pay her manda here because her son was in Iraq, with the famous United States war and Iraq. They are things that one more compromise him more and more to continue strengthening faith in our municipality. In a procession we can have between 7,000 and 8,000 people seeing religious events“Alberto Ávila said.

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In addition to this, Guamal receives hundreds of people who inhabit the 32 corregimientos that the municipality has, among which are CEIBA, Pedregoza, Bellavista, Murillo, San Antonio, among others.

Finally, the president of Adazazarenos de Guamal invites Colombians and people from all over the world to attend this municipality to enjoy the tradition of Holy Week with the slogan “Come, visit and meet Guamal. Make a participant of the Major Week.”