Jumping The Baby

Jumping The Baby

I wouldn't be called WeirdTV if I didn't bring you strange news from around the world. Then again, I'm not actually doing it with a TV. So there goes that brilliant theory to my name. In any event, I caught wind of a strange Baby Jumping Festival and I just had to look this shit up.

Since 1620 Castrillo de Murcia has celebrated Corpus Christi with an act that is known as El Colacho. The famously bizarre event sees grown men dressed as the Devil leaping over a row of babies lying in street.

The Catholic festival of Corpus Christi is celebrated all over Spain with processions, mystery plays and a wide variety of popular celebrations, but this one has to be the strangest. It is believed that as the incarnate devils jump they take all their evil with them and the children are cleansed.

The event's origins are vague, but the celebration is an example of the mix of traditional Spanish folklore and religion, and great fun to watch!

The celebrations continue for a few days but the most important day is the Sunday following Corpus Christi. The shadowy brotherhood of Santísimo Sacramento de Minerva - the people responsible for organising the celebrations - also chase and terrorise anybody and everybody in the town at regular intervals throughout the day.

So let me get this straight. You get all snazzy looking and you jump over babies? I need to see pictures of this!



It's like the running of the bulls.. but with babies.. and jumping



Ha! Now that's comedy!



Those babies look so bored. They don't know what's going on. But I'm sure this AP picture will be held up in court in 20 years when the lawsuits for the therapy bills come due.

I can't really be talking smack about this, right? I mean. I'm Basque. This is in my blood. I was born to jump over babies and other small things like shrimp and tapas plates. So while we speak about Spain, I want to further use this little blog to promote a program all about Spain.

Made In Spain With Jose

It airs on your local PBS station, you know. That one that you always turn off when they go to their pledge drive. Yeah, that one.

You can watch full episodes and clips on Hulu to better your recipe making tricks and tactics.



I gotta say.. Spain is an amazing place for food.. I don't think it's a very safe place for babies. But then again, babies can't get into Tapas bars so it doesn't matter anyway.