(REPOST) What is the Annual Garifuna PORORO Cultural Celebration?

What are the annual December 12th Celebrations about?

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Copyright 2015 by Teofilo Colon Jr., a.k.a “Tio Teo” (T.O. Tayo). All Rights Reserved. Contact Tio Teo.

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Bronx, New York — Do you know about the Guatemalan Garifuna cultural tradition of PORORO which takes place on or around December 12th? 

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Is there a connection between the annual celebration of the Patroness Saint of Mexico, Guatemala and Latin America, Our Lady of Guadalupe / Virgin of Guadalupe?

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PORORO, a Guatemalan Garifuna kickoff to the Holiday Fiesta Season which lasts from December until New Year’s, is a Guatemalan Garifuna Celebration of the Patroness Saint of Mexico, Guatemala and Latin America ‘Our Lady of Guadalupe’ or the ‘Virgin of Guadalupe’.

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Our Lady of Guadalupe and/or The Virigin of Guadalupe is associated with a pictorial image of The Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, which can be found in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Mexico.

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The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the most visited Catholic site in the world and the third most visited sacred site in the world.  This celebration takes place once a year near or on December 12th. This day is one of the most important days of the year for Mexicans and Catholics in Latin America.

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The Virgin of Guadalupe / Our Lady of Guadalupe

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The Virgin of Guadalupe, (otherwise known as the Indigenous Virgin Mary) is one of the most famous and celebrated religious symbols in the world. In fact, she is the Patroness Saint Of Mexico and the continental Americas. According to the legend, on the morning of December 9th 1531, she appeared in a vision (as a maiden) before Juan Diego (an Aztec Indian Peasant) on a hill in Tepeyac, Mexico. ¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe

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Speaking to Mr. Diego in his native Natuatl language, she asked that a church be built at that very place in her honor.  Mr. Juan Diego interpreted that request as coming from the Virgin Mary herself. 

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Juan Diego then told of his experience to the Archbishop of Mexico City, Fray Juan de Zumarraga.  The archbishop then told Juan Diego to return to the hill in Tepeyac, Mexico and ask the ‘lady’ for a miraculous sign to prove her identity.

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According to the legend, the first sign was the healing of Juan Diego’s uncle.  Then, the Virgin told Juan Dieco to gather flowers from the top of the hill in Tepeyac, Mexico. 

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At the top of the hill, Juan Diego found Castilian roses, which are NOT native to Mexico.  They are from SPAIN.  Not only that, but these roses were blooming in December on a hilltop that is normally as dry as a desert.

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The Virgin arranged the roses in his tilma (cloak), and when Juan Diego opened his cloak before Bishop Zumarraga on December 12th, the flowers fell to the floor, and on the fabric of the tilma was the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe!!!  

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Garifunas are from Guatemala as well as the neighboring Central American countries of Belize to the North and Honduras and Nicaragua to the South / East, so it is interesting to see their version of an Indigenous celebration.

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Or to put it another way, it’s intriguing to see an example of Indigenous heritage as expressed by Garifunas.

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December 12th, The Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe typically begins with a Morning Mass.   The Mass ends to the sound of explosive drums and rhythmic blowing of a conch shell. 

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Garifuna PORORO Cultural Celebration

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According to Hilary E. Kahn, Professor and Director of The Center for Global Change at Indiana University (and the only person I could find who has written extensively about the Pororo celebration, which she did in her 2006 book, “Seeing and Being Seen: The Q’eqchi Maya of Livingston, Guatemala and Beyond”), young children in indigenous dress “dance frantically in front of the altar, up and down the aisle, screaming, laughing, and bouncing with the beat.”  ²Hilary E. Kahn, “Seeing and Being Seen: The Q’eqchi Maya of Livingston, Guatemala and Beyond” pg 141. Copyright 2006 by the University of Texas Press.

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Hundreds of participants in this activity then proceed to form a procession out the church, into the streets, through the town center, culminating in the town gymnasium dancing and playing music the entire time.

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In Hilary E. Kahn’s book, The Q’eqchi Maya people in Livingston Guatemala actually mention that they view the Guatemalan Garifuna Pororo celebrations as a sort of cultural appropriation.  I am unable to get into that debate in full at this time, but my eyebrows definitely arched upon reading that perspective in the book.  Below are videos from various Guatemalan Garifuna Pororo celebrations in Guatemala and in the Bronx.  They are all instructive in some way.  If you have the time, take a look at them.

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Below is video from a 2018 Garifuna Pororo Cultural Celebration in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala.

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Below is video from a 2018 Garifuna Pororo Celebration in Livingston, La Buga, Guatemala.

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Below is video from a 2020 Garifuna Pororo Cultural Celebration in Livingston, Labuga, Guatemala.

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Pororo in the port town of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala.

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Pororo 2012 in the port town of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala.  Take note of the indigenous outfits worn by some of the participants.  The red sash across  the waists of children, the corte (Mayan skirt), the huipils (Mayan blouse).

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Pororo 2010 in the Town Gymnasium in Livingston, Guatemala.

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In New York City, Pororo takes on a slightly different tone but the purpose is still the same as far as I can tell.  In essence, an expression of indigenous-ness.  Below is promotional video featuring Garifuna American band Legacy Gifted at a Pororo celebration.  Check out the circular, whirling dance at the end of this video.

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Below is another video featuring mostly Garifuna performers at the 2011 Pororo concert celebration in the Bronx.

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Finally here’s video of the 2012 Pororo Celebration in the Bronx. This video features Garifuna American Singer Eddy GNG from Guatemala.

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There are a few Guatemalan Garifuna Pororo Celebrations that take place in the Bronx in New York City.  I am unaware of other Pororo Celebrations in other cities in the United States.  Take a look at the BEING GARIFUNA Facebook page or Twitter page for notices about other Pororo celebrations.

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About The Garifuna People

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