This Irie Latino Window contribution comes to us on "El Dia de la Chinita (Day of the Chinita)", an annual celebration which takes place in Maracaibo, Venezuela every year on November 18th. The Blackberry picture above of a massive crowd celebrating outside the Basilica de Chiquinquirá, also known as the Iglesia (Church) of the Chinita, was taken last night by a friend of an Irie Latina. The roots of the celebration surround a story in which a lady living in Maracaibo found a wooden slab with an image of the Virgin Mary on November 18, 1709 which later glowed miraculously in her house. The virgin glowed with tanned skin and almond shaped eyes and the people of the city referred to their new queen as the "Chinita".
The Chinita's fair officially begins on October 27th but the last two days, the 17th and 18th of November, are the most spectacular. Parties begin all around the city on the 17th with concerts and traditional "gaita" bands singing in discos and bars. Multitudes of people celebrate into the dawn of the 18th enjoying what is known as an "amanecer gaitero (gaitero daybreak)".
1 comment:
YOU ARE THE BEST ALEXIS! THANX FOR SHARING THIS SPECIAL HOLIDAY TO EVERYBODY! IT REALLY MEANS TOO MUCH FOR US.. "LOS MARACUCHOS".. BEST REGARDS! ;)
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