Balls of fire light up sky in El Salvador festival

[Judi Lynn]

September 1, 2022
7:46 PM CDT
Last Updated a day ago

Reuters

1 minute read

- video at link -

Sept 1 (Reuters) - Men with painted faces and masks pelted each other with rags drenched in gasoline and rolled into tight flaming balls, as the town of Nejapa in El Salvador celebrated its annual fireball festival.

The festival commemorates a volcanic eruption in 1658 that forced residents to abandon the small town, which is located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of San Salvador.



The tradition may have its roots in a local legend that the town's patron saint San Jeronimo was praying when the devil threw fireballs to distract him, said Jorge Escamilla, the mayor of Nejapa.

More:
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/balls-fire-light-up-sky-el-salvador-festival-2022-09-01/

[Kid Berwyn]

1. Drama serves to preserve cultural memory.

Stories also serve to preserve personal identity.

Thank you for the heads-up, Judi Lynn, for this fascinating and unforgettable story.

[Judi Lynn]

3. This event would be amazing to see in person! Thank you, Kid Berwyn.

Just read your signature line, it's perfect. I have had the same feeling, too. It's true for any real book lover who has entered a big, brand new library for the first time. Very glad to be reminded of that experience. Nothing like it!

[Kid Berwyn]

4. "By this art you may contemplate the variation of the 23 letters...."

The Library of Babel

by Jorge Luis Borges

https://sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wp-content/uploads/sites/226/2015/12/Borges-The-Library-of-Babel.pdf

[Judi Lynn]

2. Salvadoran revellers launch fireballs to re-enact epic battle

September 1, 2022
7:46 PM CDT
Last Updated 3 days ago
By Wilfredo Pineda

2 minute read

NEJAPA, El Salvador, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Salvadorans celebrated a dangerous but beloved festival by lobbing fireballs at each other during night-time revelry that mixes religious and historical elements as masked participants dodged flaming projectiles and onlookers cheered them on.

The annual festival was held on Wednesday night in the town of Nejapa, a short drive north of the country's capital San Salvador. It honours St. Jerome, the hamlet's patron Roman Catholic saint, known as San Jeronimo in Spanish.

Festival organisers prepared for the fiery spectacle by soaking 3,000 cloth balls in gasoline, or double the normal amount, to mark the festival's 100th anniversary and the first since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered cancellations of the event over the past couple years.

"This really makes me emotional, it's a big passion for me," said Nejapa resident Elmer Portal, his face colorfully painted. "This is our culture and it shows love for Nejapa."

More:
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/salvadoran-revellers-launch-fireballs-re-enact-epic-battle-2022-09-02/

Taken with a phone, some substantial balls of fire: