The magic of the traditional Convite de Locos (The Crazy People’s Party) will arrive at the Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante Cultural Center with an exhibition featuring photographs, testimonies, and a display of masks that have been used in this emblematic San Miguel festival.
The cultural space thus joins the San Miguel tradition, which will take place this year on Sunday, June 15th, through a cultural memorial that is the result of the collaborative work carried out with the four paintings that have kept this tradition alive: Cuadro del Parque (The Park Painting), Cuadro Antiguo (The Old Painting), Cuadro Nuevo (The New Painting), and Cuadro del Tecolote (The Owl Painting).
The temporary exhibition will open next Wednesday, June 11th, as part of the second exhibition cycle at the Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante Cultural Center, which has been described as: “A cycle that celebrates creative plurality, from abstract works and symbolic elements of traditional festivities, promoting memory, artistic practice, and critical thinking.”
The exhibition, titled “El Convite de Locos (The Crazy People’s Party). ‘A Cultural Memory’ is made up of a series of photographs by Arturo Suárez, objects, and testimonies that celebrate the community’s identity, having been part of this festival, which has been held in San Miguel de Allende for more than 50 years.
What is ‘El Convite de Locos’?
El Convite de Locos is one of the city’s most popular traditions and is part of the festivities in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua. Although there is no concrete information about its beginnings, its origin is related to the feast of Saint Pascual Bailón, the patron saint of the Locos, to whom they dedicate their dances and devotion.
The groups that dance in the convite are divided into four traditional groups: Cuadro del Parque, Cuadro Antiguo, Cuadro Nuevo, and Cuadro del Tecolote, each made up of 13 groups, all with their floats and sound or musical band.
Source: periodicocorreo
