Nicaragua’s traditional “gritería” (Shout), celebrated every Dec. 7 in honor of the Immaculate Conception, marked its 150th anniversary last week amid debate over the government’s decision to institutionalize the festivities.
This fireworks-filled religious and folkloric festival, celebrated in Nicaragua and among Nicaraguan communities in the United States, El Salvador, and Costa Rica, traces its origins to Dec. 7, 1857. The first gritería took place after the two-year National War, during which a coalition of Central American countries, Britain, and many Nicaraguans succeeded in expelling an army of U.S. filibusters led by William Walker.
On that day, Rev. Gordiano Carranza, accompanied by an image of the Virgin Mary, addressed hundreds of faithful in the main square of León. He called out, “Who brings so much joy?” and the crowd responded enthusiastically, “Mary’s Conception!” This celebratory cry continues to kick off the festivities, 150 years later, as priests and the faithful across the country carry on the tradition.
On the evening of Dec. 7, people take to the streets to sing traditional songs in front of altars set up at thousands of homes. At each altar, house owners distribute traditional candies and other presents, while non-stop fireworks light up the night sky.
Though the gritería is celebrated nationwide, it is most enthusiastically observed in León, 90 kilometers northwest of Managua, and in Granada, 45 kilometers southeast of the capital. These two cities were rivals during the 1856-57 National War, and their enthusiasm for the festival reflects their shared history and cultural pride.
However, controversy surrounded this year’s gritería due to President Daniel Ortega’s decision to institutionalize the event through the coordination of the controversial Councils of Citizen Power (CPCs). This move has drawn criticism from Nicaragua’s significant Protestant evangelical community and other non-Catholics, who argue that Ortega should respect the secular state established by the 1987 constitution he enacted during his earlier presidency.
The once anti-clerical Ortega, who reversed his earlier pro-choice position during the 2006 election campaign, made a point of embracing Catholicism, including endorsing the repeal of Nicaragua’s century-old law allowing therapeutic abortion in cases where the mother’s health is at risk. This shift has added to the debate over the institutionalization of the gritería and its role in a secular state.
