Chile Events and Festivals

3/01/2009 - 3/31/2009Easter (Semana Santa)

Semana Santa is an important time throughout Latin America, with religious ceremonies and processions taking place throughout the week from Palm Sunday through until Easter Sunday. On each day there are specific rituals and processions through the streets. Participants often go on their knees or carry large wooden crosses. In Chile the tradition of 'Cuasimodo' extends a week beyond Easter, in popular celebrations that derive from the time when parish priests made their post-Easter rounds accompanied by armed cowboy bodyguards. Also known as 'Correr a Cristo', or Running to Christ, the day-long celebration involves a mass, followed by a procession in which the parish priest is drawn in a decorated carriage accompanied by mounted cowboys, bicycles, carts, and crowds of shouting people. The procession careers through the streets stopping only to enjoy copious amounts of food, drink and music.