By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The indigenous community of Rey Curré is located in the canton of Buenos Aires in southern Puntarenas Province. Residents there will be celebrating from Thursday to Jan. 26, their traditional Juego de los Diablitos.  This is an activity listed as intangible cultural heritage of Costa Rica since 2017, and it means playing with little devils in English.

"The ritual is an ancestral tradition that represents the struggle that the indigenous Borucan ancestors had against the Spanish, during the time of the colonization of the continent in the 16th century," said the Ministry of Culture in its statement.

The festivity in Rey Curré, is divided into different rituals:

First is La Nacencia. This takes place on Thursday about midnight. For this ritual, the little devils climb silently to a hill near the town and wait for exactly midnight. At the sound of a bomb announcing the party, a shell horn will sound followed by drums, flute and accordion. The natives disguised as devils, dance, and begin to come from the hill, led by the chiefs or major devils, who enjoy full and irrefutable authority during the development of this game. The entire town accompanies them from a distance and together they will tour, during the rest of the dawn, all the houses of the town where they are received with enthusiasm and benevolence while sharing the chicha, which is an alcoholic beverage made with corn, and tamales made of rice. From house to house, little devils and people dance until dawn.

The second ritual is the first day of the game. On Friday, Jan. 24, at about 9 a.m., the little devils return to action. This time they will have the unexpected appearance of an actor who will become, for the rest of the days of the game, theirs worst enemy: the bull. A symbolic figure is similar to a real bull, made of wood with which the devils, interpreted by young indigenous people, dressed in bags, with faces protected by wooden raft masks, with zoomorphic and anthropomorphic designs. That will be the dynamics of the game for the next two days of fighting: The bull attacks and the little devils evade their blows.

The third ritual is the second day of the game. Similar to the previous day, but more little devils join the dance.

The fourth ritual is the third and last day of the game. Upon arriving on Sunday, Jan. 26, at the end of the afternoon, the little devils are partially bent by the bull in one of the dances called "La tumbazón," which represents a transition of great importance for the outcome of the game. The bull, leaving the devils lying down, flees to take refuge in the mountain and after about 10 minutes, the devils wake up and return to the fight. Together they go after the bull who hides in the bush. They find him, tie him up and carry him dragged to the center of the town where they kill him, burn him and, as a sign of triumph, his parts are distributed symbolically, thus concluding the traditional Juego de Los Diablitos.

For its valuable contribution to national identity, this ritual was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Costa Rica since 2017.

How to get to Rey Curré? The indigenous community of Rey Curré is located in the southern zone of Costa Rica, in the canton of Buenos Aires, in Puntarenas.

Its access is very simple since it is located on the Interamerican Highway South, between Palmar Norte and Buenos Aires.

The organizers, natives of the community, offer bus service from Buenos Aires to Rey Curré.

Visitors are recommended to book hotels and cabins in Palmar Norte and Buenos Aires, which are located 20 minutes by car from Rey Curré.

For more information, about reservations and bus service, call the Rey Curré community organization at 506-8709-3735.





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