The hotels in the provincial town are inadequate to accommodate the
people who journey annually to Quillota to witness the strange scenes
presented in the procession of the Pelican, and when the ceremony is
concluded there is an undignified rush for trains. The crowd, that
stands quietly with bared heads during the passion play, resolves
itself into a mob, each individual scrambling and fighting for the
most advantageous position at the railway station. Those who cannot
secure accommodation in the trains must spend the night in the streets,
and following “La Procesión del Pelicano” the usual quiet of Quillota
is turned into a drunken rabble. The police are unable to control the
crowd, and the scene of religious fervor and devout Christian spirit
shown by the multitude during the procession representing Christ
crucified, is changed to a bacchanalian carousal. The event brings
out the peculiarities of the Chilean character. One hour they are
intoxicated with religious excitement and the next on aguardiente,
entering as enthusiastically into the spirit of one condition as the
other, with never a thought, apparently, of the inconsistency of their
actions.
FEAST OF THE PATRON SAINT.
The celebration of the anniversary of the patron saint of the parish
church is an important event. The little vice-parroquia (district
church), where the annual feast is held, is generally whitewashed,
and has a tile roof, blue doors, and yellow painted windows, and is
topped by a square belfry tower. It is usually situated upon a slight
elevation from which the ground slopes down to a nearby country road.
The only relief to the monotony of the dreary surroundings is a few
flowering shade trees. About the time the “novena” is concluded, carts
begin to arrive and form in line along the roadside. As the crowd
augments the scene resolves itself into one of animation and activity.
People are constructing out of tree boughs, places of temporary
residence, in which they sleep and where they conduct a small business
during the festival. Women are engaged in bringing in firewood and
jugs of water, which they carry on their heads. Oxen are unhitched
from carts and driven home, as the feast lasts many days. Often as
many as fifty carts, covered with canvas, branches of trees or skins
are arranged side by side in close proximity. They serve as places of
shelter for the owners, who remain throughout the feast. Each cart is
supplied with a barrel of chicha, wine and aguardiente, and also with
fowls and vegetables, from which is made cazuela, to supply the hungry
crowd.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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