Escarleth Doña brings her baby close to the image of San Sebastián to seek protection from the patron saint of Diriamba, a town in southeastern Nicaragua that celebrated its town festival this weekend restricted to the church and its surroundings, amid tensions between Daniel Ortega’s government and the Catholic Church.
“We brought our little son to be presented, so he blesses us with good health for me and my family and protects us and frees us from all evil,” said Doña, 32, while holding two-month-old Gabriel Sebastián in her arms.
Doña came from Managua, about 40 km from this small farming town where the faithful from different parts of the country gather on January 19 and 20 to participate in this religious festival, hoping to obtain relief from their everyday troubles from the saint.
“We adapt ourselves to all the situations we experience, especially so that people can grow in their faith, which is the most important thing for us,” said Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, the archbishop of Managua, who led the mass at the Minor Basilica of San Sebastián, a hundred-year-old church in Diriamba.
Religious celebrations like that of San Sebastián have been restricted to churches and their immediate perimeter since last year, as President Daniel Ortega explained at the time, to avoid “provocations” that would affect citizen peace and security.
This time it was celebrated in a sensitive atmosphere, six days after the government announced the release of two bishops, including Monsignor Rolando Álvarez – the clergyman most critical of Ortega – 15 priests and two seminarians, who were sent to Rome under an agreement with the Vatican.
Last October, 12 other arrested clergy had already been released and also sent to Rome.
The government and the Catholic Church have had tense relations since the 2018 protests against Ortega, which left more than 300 dead, according to the UN. The president considered them an attempted coup sponsored by Washington and supported by priests.
The Three Saints
As part of the festivities, the image of San Sebastián and those of the patron saints of neighboring towns such as Santiago, from Jinotepe, and San Marcos, from the town of the same name, were taken out by the faithful to the atrium of the church, where more than a thousand people chanted “Long live the Church!”, accompanied by marimba music, whistles, drums, and handmade firecrackers.
Traditionally, the images of the saints of Jinotepe and San Marcos were carried in a colorful procession to meet with San Sebastián and be paraded through the streets of Diriamba. This time they arrived in pickup trucks up to a couple of blocks from the church and, after being carried by thousands of worshipers to the Basilica, they spent the night inside.
When they left the church, firecrackers went off and bells rang amid shouts of jubilation from the faithful who crowded around to also watch the dance of “El Toro Huaco” and “El Güegüense,” a traditional dance symbolizing the rebelliousness, wit and resourcefulness of Nicaraguans to survive Spanish rule during the colonial era.
“I want to be present at these festivities, even if they are not the same as other years, but we have to strengthen our faith more every day,” said María Olivas, 67.
Carlos Barberena is attending for the first time in gratitude because his best friend, who was forced to emigrate to the United States, got a good job.
“First year coming to get to know the Basilica and experience the festivities in honor of San Sebastián; I come to fulfill a promise from a friend of mine who embarked on a journey in search of a better life to the United States and thanks to San Sebastián found a good job and is stable there,” said Barberena.
In the atrium and a small park in front of the Basilica, the dance groups display their art with colorful costumes, marimba music and detonations from firecrackers liven up the moment.
“I have always fulfilled promises for miracles received from San Sebastián,” said Karina Muñiz, 48, who dresses up in traditional attire every year to dance to the rhythm of marimbas in honor of San Sebastián.
