- Title: Salvadorans fling flaming fireballs at each other in town tradition
- Date: 1st September 2019
- Summary: NEJAPA, EL SALVADOR (AUGUST 31, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS, PEOPLE TAKING PART IN TRADITIONAL FIREBALL FIGHT WITH PARTICIPANTS THROWING FIREBALLS DOWN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) 33-YEAR-OLD LOCAL RESIDENT AND FIREBALL FIGHT PARTICIPANT, CARLOS SANCHEZ, SAYING: "(I'm) keeping up the tradition of my ancestors. There's nothing nicer than that. Really, it's great." PARTICIPANTS RUNNING DOWN STREET WITH FIREBALLS PARTICIPANTS FLINGING FIREBALLS AT EACH OTHER TOWN FESTIVAL ANGEL STATUE AT FESTIVAL PEOPLE WALKING DOWN STREET PARTICIPANTS GETTING READY FOR FIREBALL FIGHT 18-YEAR-OLD LOCAL RESIDENT AND FIREBALL FIGHT PARTICIPANT, RICARDO RAMIREZ, GETTING READY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) 18-YEAR-OLD LOCAL RESIDENT AND FIREBALL FIGHT PARTICIPANT, RICARDO RAMIREZ, SAYING: "I've been participating in this for seven years, and I'm inspired by not letting the tradition be lost here in our city of Nejapa." 22-YEAR-OLD LOCAL RESIDENT AND FIREBALL FIGHT PARTICIPANT, CARLOS RIVERA, PUTTING MASK ON (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) 22-YEAR-OLD LOCAL RESIDENT AND FIREBALL FIGHT PARTICIPANT, CARLOS RIVERA, SAYING: "Our grandparents, our great-grandparents told us different stories about this event. Some said that Saint Jerome stopped the fireballs that came from the volcano here in El Salvador, and he was able to stop them. Others say it was a fight between him (Saint Jerome) and the devil, and he had to throw fireballs. And, there are different stories that have been told for a long time." RIVERA HOLDING FIREBALL VARIOUS, PARTICIPANTS WALKING DOWN STREET HOLDING FIREBALL VARIOUS, PARTICIPANTS THROWING FIREBALLS
- Embargoed: 15th September 2019 18:01
- Keywords: town festival odd religious fireball Saint Jerome balls flaming El Salvador
- Location: NEJAPA, EL SALVADOR
- City: NEJAPA, EL SALVADOR
- Country: El Salvador
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001AUTTYDF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The town of Nejapa, El Salvador celebrated its annual fireball festival on Saturday (August 31) with participants pelting each other with rags drenched in gasoline that have been rolled into tight flaming balls.
Participants gather every year on this date in the town located some 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of San Salvador, to commemorate a volcanic eruption in 1658 that forced all of the residents to abandon the town.
Local churches and their worshippers have embraced the tradition with urban legend saying that the hot lava that flowed from the volcano was actually the local Christian Saint Jerome fighting the devil with balls of fire. The fireball hurling is meant to remember the old town which was destroyed in the battle.
Nejapa resident Carlos Rivera, dressed in fatigues and ready for the fireball battle, explained, "Our grandparents, our great-grandparents told us different stories about this event. Some said that Saint Jerome stopped the fireballs that came from the volcano here in El Salvador... Others say it was a fight between him (Saint Jerome) and the devil, and he had to throw fireballs."
(Production: Wilfredo Pineda, Manuel Carrillo) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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