VENEZUELA: DRUMS OF CURIEPE FESTIVAL CELEBRATIONS

(29 Jun 1998) Spanish/Nat

Each year at the end of June, Venezuelans celebrate a religious tradition dating back to slavery and in honour of Saint John.

The "Drums of Curiepe" festival is a blend of the Catholic beliefs of the Spanish conquistadores and the rites of the African slaves brought during the colonial period.

The celebrations are believed to mark the beginning of the summer.

A large drum is brought into a church in the coast town of Curiepe.

It is a yearly tradition in honour of St. John - a religious icon with ethereal and mundane characteristics.

In June, the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. John the Baptist.

In Venezuela the same saint is revered, but the descendants of the African slaves have a different view of the saint.

Their saint is very young, and he likes good food, music and women.

His mundane characteristics are represented by the erotic dances of the believers.

In the Venezuelan celebration, a statue of a childish St. John is dressed up in red and white and paraded through the streets of several towns, while believers dance and sing to the rhythm of the drums.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Drummer (he did not give his name)
"The Curiepe drums are a tradition which dates back to slavery. The drums were not from here because this was an indigenous town. When slavery came and the blacks came - well, they did not come, they didn't want to come, they were brought here - they were the ones who brought the drums here."
SUPER CAPTION: Drummer

The celebration reflects the mixing of the Catholic beliefs of the Spanish conquistadores with the rites of the African slaves.

Believers dress up in red and white - the colours ascribed to the saint - and some wear straw hats and colourful turbans.

Unlike the traditional Catholic feasts in honour of saints, the Drums of Curiepe's main ingredients are the frantic rhythms of the African drums.

The "Drums of Curiepe" are believed to mark the beginning of the summer.

And many claim that during the festivities the saint empowers medicinal plants and helps those looking for jobs, love and fertility.

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