In this excerpt, Chavarría shares childhood memories about how the Congo tradition was enacted before “the road.” In the “closed” community people did not work during carnival season, pooled resources, shared food, and communed together for several days as part of their celebration.
In this excerpt, Chavarría responds to the question, “One hundred years in the future when scholars are studying the Congo tradition in Portobelo, what are the most important things that they should know?”
In this excerpt, Chavarría discusses his memory of the last time the renowned Celedonio Molinar performed as devil and how his mentor retired in 2003 after being honored at that year’s Festival de los Diablos.
In this excerpt, Chavarría talks about his choice to play the devil role in the Congo tradition and shares his memories of how he came to play the role for the first time as a school-aged boy.
In this excerpt, Ileana discusses the unique energy and magnetism that made Celedonio Molinar’s embodiment of the devil character within the Congo tradition of Portobelo, Panama so special.
In this excerpt, Solís discusses what she believes is the legacy of Celedonio Molinar, renowned Major Devil in the Congo tradition of Portobelo, Panama.
In this excerpt, Molinar discusses how he came to play the role of Major Devil in Portobelo. And how he reintroduced the practice of “Blessing” or “Baptizing” the Devil.
In this excerpt, Molinar discusses how he learned the role of Major Devil and the tradition of “Blessing the Devil” from a Portobelo native named Viudo Ceballos who had moved to Nombre de Dios. He also describes the way the devil tradition was practiced in Portobelo when he arrived there in 1945.
In this excerpt, Molinar discusses the process by which the Major Devil is chosen and trained for the role. He also clarifies that he ascended to the role of Major Devil in Nombre de Dios and arrived in Portobelo with the experience and title to play the role.
In this excerpt, Jiménez talks about the participation of other family members in the Congo tradition, including an older brother who has performed the role of Pajarito and a younger brother who has performed the role of devil. His father, Andrés, also performed in the role of priest in the Congo tradition and, like him, was trained in his role by Celedonio Molinar.