Festival of John the Baptist.

• Author: Mbulu, Mba
• Position: !Ojo! - Reprint

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ONE OF THE MOST storied cultural celebrations in South America, the festival of San Juan Bautista (John the Baptist), will take place this June in Barlovento. Located in the state of Miranda, Barlovento is the region of Venezuela with the highest concentration of African descendants.

According to Jesus "Chucho" Garcia, the preeminent authority on Afro-Venezuelan culture, most of Barlovento cultural expressions are based on religious and recreational activities that originated in colonial times. The celebration of San Juan Bautista evolved because the white slave owners wanted to strengthen the system of slavery by forcing African slaves and their descendants to pay homage to San Juan Bautista. The blacks interpreted the celebration as an attempt by the slaveholders to convince them that, even in heaven, they would encounter a spiritual equivalent to the master who ruled them on earth.

However, as Garcia makes perfectly clear, the Africans had their own religious beliefs, myths, and symbols. They were able to use their folklore, history, drums, songs, and rhythms to reinforce and transform a celebration that was meant to bolster slavery into a festival of liberation. Thus it was no coincidence that in 1749, many blacks in Barlovento planned a huge but unsuccessful rebellion to coincide...