Indian chiefs and dancing red and black devils invade the Nicaraguan capital each August as the annual Santo Domingo festival explodes in the streets of Managua to honor the tiny statue of a Roman Catholic saint.
A Ferris wheel that operates with a noisy truck motor and other carnival rides go up outside the Santo Domingo Las Sierritas parish church. Equestrian parades and bullfights are organized for the festival celebrating the popular saint.
Vendors hawk all kinds of religious items, carnival food, games of chance, toys and popular art, while the devout walk on their knees to the sanctuary give thanks for a prayer granted. Others dance to live music and drink huge amounts of liquor both in and outside the church in raucous merrymaking.
The 10 days of festivities have their roots in the 1885 discovery of the 8-centimeter (a little over 3-inch) statue of Santo Domingo de Guzman — also known as St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Dominican religious order. A peasant named Vicente Aburto was cutting down a tree in what was then the outskirts of Managua when he found the tiny rendering of the saint with a tonsure and beard, clad in white robes and a black cape.
The statue the faithful refer to as “Minguito,” a diminutive term for Domingo, or “Papito” (“Daddy”), is protected by a glass bell and carried through throngs of people in the street during the celebration.
Wilmor Lopez, a journalist who specializes in Nicaraguan folklore, says the festivities are syncretic in nature, being linked to the corn harvest and the region’s indigenous corn god Xolotl. He says that explains the native dances, costumes and heavy drinking and eating in a festival in which the only really Spanish thing is the saint himself.
Guillermo de Jesus Zapata, 57, says he has participated for 45 years, dressing up and dying his skin the color of brick to dance as a red devil. Other people paint their skin black with recycled motor oil.
Zapata is a true believer in Santo Domingo. He says he used to drink and smoke a lot, but at a festival he lost consciousness and awoke to find he no longer craved alcohol or cigarettes.
Maria Mercedes Salazar, 57, says she has been devoted to Santo Domingo since she was 17, even though her family began dressing her up as an Indian chief for the festival when she was just 5 years old. She continues the annual tradition for her late daughter Guadalupe, who died of tuberculosis.
Nicaraguans of all classes and from all walks of life, from small children to the elderly, come out in full force. There are even transvestites, sex workers, and young people covered with tattoos.
“All of us can adore ‘Papito,'” says Carlos Membreno, a robust, gray-haired transportation worker who sports tattoos on both arms. “It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, he doesn’t care about your money, education or work. He only cares about your promise. “
Membreno says his devotion to Santo Domingo began 31 years ago, when his mother had him accompany her as she gave thanks for relief from an illness.
When the fiesta ends, Membreno feels sad.
“I wept because I would not see him again,” he says. “I would not dance, I would not see him, until next year.”
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In this Aug. 10, 2015 photo, a “promesante” or devotee of Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman, wearing a blindfold, advances on his knees towards the Las Sierritas parish church, while he is assisted relatives, as a payment for a perceived miracle performed by the saint, in Managua, Nicaragua. Devotees make the last 200 meters to the saint’s altar in the Las Sierritas parish church on their knees. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this July 31, 2015 photo, people reach to touch an image of Santo Domingo de Guzman at Las Sierritas parish church, in Managua, Nicaragua. The 8-centimeter (just a little over 3 inches) tall statute of the saint is protected by a glass bell and carried through throngs of devotees during the celebration. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 10, 2015 photo, an intoxicated man lies on the street during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. During the 10 days of festivities revelers and devotees dance to live music and drink huge amounts of liquor both in and outside the church in raucous merrymaking. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 4, 2015 photo, Jose Martin Tallen, 46, poses for a portrait dressed as an Indian during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. Tallen who is originally from the country’s Caribbean coast says that he has been a devotee of Santo Domingo since he was six years old. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 1, 2015 photo, two men pose for a picture while holding an image of Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman, in front a publicity banner, during the celebration of the saint’s feast, in Managua, Nicaragua. The feast is also tied to the pre-Columbian festival of the corn harvest also known as the “Tapisca.” (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 10, 2015 photo, the Lopez family, with their bodies covered with red paint, pose for a picture during a Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. For more than 30 years the three generations of the Lopez family have been participating in the celebrations of the feast of Santo Domingo. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 1, 2015 photo, devotees, pose for a photo during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. Managua’s original patron saint was Santiago but the Catholic Church started to change its mind in favor of the more popular Santo Domingo after a confrontation with the government of President Jose Santos Zelaza in the early 20th century, over the ownership of cemeteries. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 4, 2015 photo, a street photographer poses for a portrait with his wooden horse during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. His clients are mostly devotees who want a keepsake of the feast and he charges them about $2 per photo. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 7, 2015 photo, two men dressed as a couple pose for a photo next to traditional dolls known as a “Gigantona,” right, and a “Pepe Cabezon,” left, during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. The dolls dance around as fellow performers play on drums and shout out ribald poems for a small fee. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 10, 2015, photo, a fireworks vendor launches a rocket during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. Vendors hawk all kinds of religious items, carnival food, games of chance, toys and popular art, while the devout pay their promise to the saint. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 10, 2015 photo, a “promesante” or devotee, grimaces in pain as she moves towards the Las Sierritas parish church, on her knees, assisted by relatives during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. The 10 days of festivities have their roots in the 1885 discovery of the tiny statute of Santo Domingo de Guzman, also known as St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Dominican religious order. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 4, 2015 photo, a “promesante” or devotee, with a gun tattoo on his body, dances during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. Nicaraguans of all classes and from all walks of life, from small children to the elderly, come out in full force. There are even transvestites, sex workers, and young people covered with tattoos. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 10, 2015 photo, two women fight during the feast of Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman, in Managua, Nicaragua. According to Nicaraguan folklorist Wilmor Lopez the celebration is a mix of original indigenous and Catholic traditions, with the drinking and dancing being a reflection of both, as well as the occasional fight. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 4, 2015 photo, “promesantes” or devotees, pour black recycled motor oil on their hands in order to cover themselves with it, during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. Devotees dress up as Indian chiefs and paint themselves as dancing red and black devils with the oil, as they invade the Nicaraguan capital each August during the festivities. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this July. 31, 2015 photo, a devotee smears a woman’s face with black recycled motor oil, during the celebration of the feast of Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman, in Managua, Nicaragua. Covered in motor oil revelers and devotees dance as a way to pay for a perceived miracle performed by the saint. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 4, 2015 photo, a devotee, wears a devil’s mask next to a merry-go-round, during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. The festivities are syncretic in nature, being linked to the corn harvest and the region’s indigenous corn god Xolotl. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 10, 2015 photo, Jorge Carbajal, 30, pays a promise made to Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman, as he advances on his knees, assisted by relatives, in Managua, Nicaragua. The first 10 days of August are reserved for the carnival-like celebration of Santo Domingo with processions, bullfights, parties and church services. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 7, 2015 photo, men dance during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. Although indigenous in origin, with drinking, dancing and consumption of vast amounts of food, the addition of the image of Santo Domingo turned the feast into a Catholic celebration. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 7, 2015 photo, a girl makes a face as she reacts to cotton candy for sale during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. Outside the Santo Domingo Las Sierritas parish vendors hawk all kinds of religious items, carnival food, games of chance, toys and popular art. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this Aug. 4, 2015 photo, a group of children stands inside the Santo Domingo church during Managua’s patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman’s celebration, in Managua, Nicaragua. Nicaraguans of all classes and from all walks of life, from small children to the elderly, come out in full force to celebrate the feast. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
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