Cuasimodo Festival

On the Sunday after Easter, Chilean colonial parish priests went to get Holy Communion for the elderly and declared it impossible to go to church on Easter Sunday. They were guarded by groups of huasos, or cowboys on horseback, who protected them from bandits who tried to steal the silver chalices. Along the way, the priests and their bodyguards were given food and drink, usually chicha or wine, to wash away the dust of the road. This is called the Cuasimodo Festival - one of the most famous festivals in Chile.

Today, Cuasimodo is a festival of reverence known as well as fixing a Cristo, or running to Christ. This famous 400-year-old tradition continues mainly in the Santiago area, in the municipalities of Lo Barnechea, La Florida, Maipu, and La Reina, and especially in Colina. At a recent ceremony in Colina, 4,500 men on horseback joined the procession.

• Organization Time: Sunday after Easter
• Location: Santiago, Chile