[The Guardian] Celebrating the Black Jesus – a photo essay

Celebrating the Black Jesus – a photo essay

In Quinamayó, a town in south-west Colombia inhabited by the descendants of black enslaved people, Christmas is celebrated in February, 45 days after the traditional date of the birth of Jesus Christ, because the town’s residents were not allowed to use the same date as their slavers

The Messiah was born in February. Quinamayó’s ancestors, black people kidnapped from Africa, were not allowed to celebrate Christmas in December. That was an exclusive month for the owners of the haciendas. That is why the Quinamayó ancestors decided to celebrate their own festivities 45 days after the date dictated by the Catholic church, the same time that the Virgin Mary kept her diet once she gave birth.

Clockwise from top left: a woman raises the figure of the Black Baby Jesus; a baby in a wooden container before its presentation in festivities; Sheryl Nicole Gómez, nine, as the Virgin Mary; a rosary with religious symbols and a tabor and flute

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Source: Celebrating the Black Jesus – a photo essay

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