Plaza de Guápulo

By the church facade lies a large, level square, while along its edges the neighborhood's houses again rise and fall. On the days of community fairs, stalls with prepared food and the work of local craftspeople are set up here. In the past, supplies and belongings collected from homes were hung from a rope above the square, and participants pulled them down by jumping. When the neighborhood council took over preparation for the feast, this custom disappeared.

On Guápulo's steep slope, builders left an open courtyard in front of the Guápulo Sanctuary on the only large level piece of ground. Residents settled higher and lower on the slope, and during the feast, processions converged here from every part of the settlement. Here, too, the feast reached its old, very material conclusion.

Preparations were led by the prioste and the captain. A prioste was a resident who took on the expenses of the celebrations for a year. Once appointed, the prioste collected the “hochas”—promised foodstuffs and return gifts from previous organizers. The prioste then ordered an outfit for the image of Our Lady of Guápulo, hired an orchestra, bought food, and obtained everything needed for the feast. There was no salary for this role: any shortfall had to be covered with family money. The captain was responsible for the costumed participants and assigned their roles.

After the now-familiar Entrada de las Naranjas came the Corrida de Gallos—the “cock race.” The name is misleading: the main thing was collecting and distributing gifts. In the morning, the prioste, the captain, and the costumed participants went from house to house in Guápulo. The householders gave them foodstuffs, alcohol, clothing, chickens, guinea pigs—whatever each could spare from their household.

The collected items were brought to the square and hung from a stretched rope. Participants jumped up and pulled down a prize for themselves. In this way, property that residents had brought out of their homes one by one passed to other families at the end of the feast. The recipient carried the loot home, and the prioste completed the year's obligation to the neighbors.

Over time, the expenses became too great for one organizer. The neighborhood council took over the preparations, and the prioste and captain disappeared in their former form; with them, the gift race also ceased to be held. In September, costumed participants and processions still converge on this square. On the days of community fairs, where a rope with household supplies was once stretched, residents set up stalls with food and handicrafts.