Celebrations in Harmony with Nature: in a balance between customs and conservation, practices are changing in Panama and Bolivia to minimize the use of wild bird feathers in festival costumes.

• Author: Balaguer, Alejandro
• Position: Essay

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Dance of the Guacamayas

It is a whirlwind of red, devil masks, capes flying in the wind, the smell of incense, and a veritable sea of faithful followers--a scene that floods my senses. The streets surrounding the old town church have been carpeted with thousands of flower petals of every color, intricate designs painstakingly made, only to be walked on by those who carry the anda , or wooden platform bearing the image of Christ. The anda will be followed by the legendary dancers called los diablicos sucios , the "dirty devils."

We are in the town of Los Santos on the Azuero Peninsula. Thousands of Panamanians gather here each year for the much anticipated and massive celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi. For centuries the red feathered devils have been the main attraction, and this year is no exception.

The Feast of Corpus Christi was instituted by Pope Urban IV in 1264 as an effort to spread the Christian faith, and the idea of Christ's presence in the Eucharist, to the entire western world. When the New World was discovered, the celebration of "the body and blood of Christ" accompanied the conquest in the Americas. During the cruel years of colonization, missionaries used fabulous dramatizations to evangelize indigenous peoples in Latin America. Many of these dramas were depictions of heavenly forces defeating the devil and so they came to be called diabladas . The diabladas took different forms in different places, often incorporating dance. Eventually, they were absorbed into the worldviews and practices of native peoples throughout the continent. The fusion of Christian and indigenous traditions came to be known as "syncretism." It quickly became part of Latin American reality and it continues to evolve and be expressed in many ways today.

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Hours go by, but the merciless midday sun is not intimidating the faithful or the curious. Next to the white church on the main plaza, a band plays procession rhythms, and the dry clap of castanets crescendos in anticipation of the dancing diablicos sucios who will exit the church when mass ends. According to myth, the diablicos are dancers who once followed Lucifer but have now been forgiven their sins and have joined others on the path of righteousness. Redeemed from their past evil, they are dancing tirelessly through the streets of town.

The priest is out in front leading a legion of converted devils of all ages. To the surprise and delight of onlookers, even the oldest devils are spinning and jumping as they dance. The masks are realistic enough to frighten some children to tears, and the crowd falls quickly under the spell of this band of devils, dressed in elaborate costumes right from the pages of Dante's Inferno .

This diablada is different from some of the others celebrated in the Americas, because the costumes use macaw feathers in the headdresses. The carmine plumes have an almost hypnotic effect as they shake to the rhythm of the dance. It's not just a feather here and there. In some cases, dozens of macaw feathers adorn a single mask. Impressive, yes, but it is also something that concerns the environmentally conscious. Macaws have almost disappeared from Panama and are in serious danger...