30/06/2020
Parrandas: Intangible Cultural Heritage.
They are a traditional carnival-like street party that take place in northern and central cities of the former Las Villas province in Cuba. Most famous parrandas are celebrated in Remedios colonial city where these festivities were originated. Second most popular are celebrated in Camajuaní, followed in popularity by Vueltas, Zulueta, Chambas, Guayos, El Santo, Taguayabón, Buenavista, Calabazar de Sagua, Zaza del Medio, Falcón and many more small town of this central region of Cuba.
These year-end revels apparently began in Remedios (a village due northeast of Santa Clara) on Christmas eve in 1820 when a zealous priest, Francisco Vigil de Quiñónez (Francisquito), went through the streets making frightening noises meant to rouse the townspeople and scare them into attending midnight Mass. The villagers took the fiesta-like din to heart and gradually evolved a Classic Mardi Gras-type carnival celebrated during the days around Christmas and New Year's eve. Testimonies place the Parrandas with structure of events similar to what is today as far as 1871. This includes both districts rumba, the plaza works (light and fireworks structures), the firework competition and float display.
Fireworks were introduced and the revels developed into a competition to see who could make the loudest noise. Each of the villagers devided into two rival camps represented by mascots: in Remedios, the Gavilan (hawk) and the Gallo (rooster). The villagers invest ludicrous emotional value in their wars and spend months preparing in secret. Warehouses are stocked full of explosives and sawhorses studded with fireworks. The final touches are put on the floats (trabajos de plaza) that will be pulled by field tractors in the early hours of the morning. The rivals take turns parading all through the night. Conga lines weave through town, accompanied by polish polka music, a tradition that evolved in the 1880s. The excitement builds as each neighborhood stages firework displays. The opposing sides alternately present their pyrotechnics. The wildest fireworks are unleashed and the fiesta culminates in an o**y of insane fire power. Pretty fireworks don't earn points.
In the year 2018, the Parrandas of the center of the Island were inscribed on the Intangible Heritage List by UNESCO.
