Zape! (Shoo!) Go away, go away, espritu maligno (bad spirit)! they sang. Go back to where you came from!The festive musical celebration combined the prayers and songs with expressive dancing to the rhythm of percussion and string instruments, which accompanied the childs ascent into heaven, where she would become an angel. Women, men and children ate, drank, prayed, sang and danced. They also played games like la gallina ciega (the blind chicken) where children tried to escape the touch of a blindfolded child who would walk around trying to feel for them. Whoever she touched was disqualified from the game. The baquin lasted throughout the night. In a time when so many children perished to disease, this was a way for the childs loved ones to say good-bye and endure the painful loss. But when all were gone, the crude reality set in. Manuel will never forget the image of those poor parents, devastated, sitting alone right next to the altar where their child lay dead, weeping desperately at her loss.He prayed for Anas soul. He prayed for those parents.And he prayed that he would never have to suffer the agony of losing a child.
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About Yasmin Tirado-Chiodini, Antonio's Will
Yasmin Tirado-Chiodini, Antonio's Will.