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THIS MONTH IN CUENCA
A Splendor of Tradition and Art
El Pase del Niño
The “Pase del Niño” in Cuenca is a popular religious demonstration of great ethnographic wealth, and in spite of time and the continuous presence of foreign cultural elements, it maintains its splendor. This is a celebration that does not only respond to the enormous faith of humble people but also to their desire to maintain their cultural values and traditions. It is a procession where the main character is Jesus Child, generally dressed up with very elegant clothing of silk and velvet stitched with gold and silver decorations. These colorful parades have a massive participation, and are organized year after year in the city and the surrounding towns. They start on the first Sunday of Advent and end on Carnival Tuesday.
The most important among all Passes is the one in honor to the “Niño Viajero” (Traveling Child) which is celebrated each year on December 24th in Cuenca. An image of Jesus that was sculpted in 1823 by request of Mrs. Josefa Heredia did a pilgrimage to different places of Holy Land in 1961 along with the image of the child which was blessed by Pope John 23rd at the end of the trip. When the owner of the image at the time, Monsignor Miguel Cordero Crespo, returned to Cuenca, the enthusiastic people gave the sculpture the name of “Niño Viajero” (Traveling Child). From then on, a cult of worship with much pomp is offered on Christmas day with a procession that generally starts at 10:00 a.m. and finishes at about 3:00 p.m. This procession starts on Ordoñez Lazo Avenue and travels along the Simón Bolívar Street downtown.
The “Pase del Niño Viajero” includes several colorful allegorical cars, popular bands, and children wearing biblical characters’ costumes, as well as the clothings of several Ecuadorian ethnic and cultural groups such as saraguros, otavalos and mayorales (stewards). They ride horses covered with fine blankets or knitting of wool and silk; equipped with the “castillo”, literally translated as “castle”, which is a group of different foods assembled in shapes of garlands with fruits, vegetables, candies, bottles of liquor, toys, ribbons, dollar bills, etc. These “castles” constitute “offerings” to Jesus Child. Once the Pass is over, the “castles” are taken apart and a great banquet is shared by family and friends at home.
XI CUENCA BIENNALE
The 11th edition of the Cuenca Biennale was inaugurated on November 11th, and will be open to the public until January 31st, 2012. The exhibit includes 81 works of art by 54 artists from 19 countries.
Place: La Casa de las Posadas, Modern Art Municipal Museum, Medicine Museum, Pumapungo Museum, De las Conceptas Museum, and the Architecture Faculty in the Univeristy of Cuenca.
The exhibit sites are open to the public Monday thru Friday from 10h00 to 19h00, Saturdays from 10h00 to 17h00 and Sundays from 10h00 to 13h00.
For more info visit:
www.bienaldecuenca.org
