San Antonio Polopó

 Devil Burning  (La Quema del Diablo)

On December seventh, San Antonio Palopo participates in a nationwide tradition of burning the Devil.                                             Sometimes starting on the sixth or the seventh the locals begin building replicas of the Devil. These are sometimes made of wood frames and paper mache, others are made from stuffing clothing with cloth, twigs, leaves and fire crackers.

The faces are decorated with paint and given horns.  After the sun sets at around 6 - 8:00 PM the locals set the devils on fire. Often times the devils are set in the middle of small streets but rarely causes any harm to the locals or the houses.

The reason why the locals burn the devil is to make way for the coming of Mother Mary. The idea of the burning is to burn away the sins and bad happenings of the previous year to make way for a fresh new year.