El Colacho - Spain

This post is a part of the A-Z April Challenge

Staying in Spain. Let’s go from Lloret de Mar to Castrillo de Murcia, a 7 hour journey if Google maps is to be trusted. Quite a small, sleepy village which won’t catch the attention of a weary traveler. It has all the traits of being an ignored, lost town in the near future if not for El Colacho.

The world has a fair share of weird and crazy festivals, but none can be jumping over babies dressed in bright clothes weird. El Colacho in Spanish means Baby jumping. And that’s exactly what happens during this festival. A man dressed in weird clothes, that make him look like a Telugu movie Elvis Presley, jumps over babies who were born over the last 12 months.

El Colacho is a traditional Spanish festival that dates well back to 1620. It is celebrated annually to celebrate the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi in the village of Castrillo de Murcia. The brotherhood of Santisimo Sacramento de Minerva (Don’t ask me what that is) organizes a week long celebrations for the people of the village.

The final day, usually a Sunday, is when the El Colacho comes to town. During this event, a person dressed as the devil(Or Colacho), in bright yellow clothes with a bit of red, jumps over babies, who are laid down in mattresses in the street. There is usually a route that traverses the village, and mattresses are laid along it. The act is known as El Saito del Colacho, or just El Colacho for laymen.

Say Hello to Colacho

How exactly did someone give birth to this idea of baby jumping is unknown, but the reasons for it are apparently well defined. It is said to cleanse the babies of the sins committed in their previous birth and also ensures their safe passage through life, guarding them against illness and evil spirits. Brilliant I must say.

The Church considers this act abominable and has asked the Spanish priests to stay away from it. It believes Baptism by water and not jumping over babies by a random person dressed as the “Devil” is what cleanses the “Original Sin”. It has clearly fallen on deaf ears in Castrillo de Murcia.

The festival has been rated as among the most dangerous in the world, for obvious reasons. Personally, I find it more Stupid than dangerous. Spain, you just lost 1 point.