The patron saint festivities of San Juan de Oriente are celebrated in honor of the patron San Juan Bautista and they take place from June 23 to 26, their main day being the 24th. According to legend, San Juan Bautista visited the town mounted on his white mare and traveled all the boundaries until he reached Calle Real.
One of the attractions of this festival is the surprising Dance of the Chinegros, declared Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage, of San Juan de Oriente on June 17, 2019.
This traditional dance of religious, anonymous, empirical order consists of the duel of two people equipped with chilillos (these are made from the binza de toro), who dance to the sound of philharmonic music and the sound of bulls, accompanied by the traditional mare who she is the mediator when the blacks are in full mourning. This ritual is performed in gratitude for the favors received by the patron saint. The origin of this dance dates back approximately to the year 1617, the date on which the first patronal festival took place.
San Juan Bautista
Another of the local traditions and customs is the tour made with sticks adorned with flowers and fruits, collected by the parishioners as a token of gratitude to the Patron Saint, for the health and work obtained, with which they make the beautiful enrammadas, which are characteristic from the butler's house, here you can taste the traditional chicha bruja, nacatamales, donuts, old Indian and others.
The cockfighting is another of the traditional activities that take place in this festival. The villagers donate roosters, which hang from a rope in a city street, then carry out horse races and each rider tries to tear off the head of the rooster and whoever succeeds shows it to the image of San Juan.
Interior of Parroquia San Juan Bautista
The Ceramics Fair, is another activity that takes place a week before the patron saint festivities. More than 100 artisans participate in it, exhibiting their artistic works for three days.
Part of the religious traditions is the pilgrimage to Popoyuapa, where families from San Juan prepare year after year with their pilgrim carts to visit the sanctuary of the Nazarene, making their journey about 7 days before Good Friday.
The parishioners dress their roofed carts with dry banana leaves and dry corn plants: food, mattresses, drinking water, chickens and cereals to start this trip.
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