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Jaír F. Coll

Documentary photographer
   
New York Times: Christmas in February
Public Project
New York Times: Christmas in February
Copyright Jaír F. Coll 2024
Date of Work Feb 2023 - Apr 2023
Updated Apr 2023
Location Jamundí
Topics Media
Summary
The Afro-Colombian residents of Quinamayó have followed a unique tradition: celebrating Christmas 40 days after the traditional date, a custom begun under the subjugation of slavery.
Photographs by Jaír F. Coll // Written by Genevieve Glatsky

The Christmas trees, twinkling lights, and red and green streamers were up, and the main street was lined with tents selling sausages and popcorn, as horse-drawn carts clopped by.

It looked like a typical Christmas festival street scene — except it was February.

Every year, Quinamayó, a town of about 6,000 in southwestern Colombia, observes a tradition that dates back to the era of slavery and has persisted as a way to turn a history of oppression and suffering into a celebration of joy.

In the early 1800s, the town’s Afro-Colombian population was enslaved and forced to work through December, attending to slaveholders’ holiday festivities. So Christmas was celebrated 40 days after the traditional birth date of Jesus — the amount of time that the Virgin Mary is said to have rested after delivery, and right after the end of harvest season.

Read the full story in: https://nyti.ms/40xyIUK
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New York Times: Christmas in February by Jaír F. Coll
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