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During Holy Week in San Antero, a municipality located on the Caribbean coast about 75 kilometers from Montería, the Donkey Festival (Festival del Burro) is celebrated, a tradition that originated in the mid-20th century.
During the solemn days of the Holy Week in San Antero it was customary - and it is still done today - to carry in a procession through the streets of the town a figure of Judas Iscariot mounted on a donkey to, at the end of the journey, symbolically hang it and burn it in the bonfire to exorcise evil and prepare for the triumphant resurrection of Jesus Christ.
From this custom, the Sananterans began to take their donkeys to the Judas procession, dressing and disguising them and giving them human names during the day, in order to show them gratitude for their help in the work of the fields.
Currently, during the Donkey Festival you can find donkeys dressed in pants, ties, and shirts or even wearing typical clothing from the coast and other regions of the country such as vueltiaos hats, aguadeños hats, and carrieles. At the end of the festival, the best costumed donkeys are awarded.
In addition to this, during the Donkey Festival (Festival del Burro) you can enjoy live music and typical expressions of the culture of the region such as troupe competitions, folkloric presentations of decimeros, mountain cries, cowboy songs, wind bands and a whistle ensemble. and drums. This event not only highlights the importance of the donkey in rural life, but also strengthens community ties and promotes tourism in San Antero.
