In 2020, the procession was suspended due to the coronavirus, but this year it was decided to resume it with proper health care.
Cuenca
The Child Traveler Pass will take place on Simón Bolívar street, located in the center of Cuenca. In a meeting held on Wednesday 24 between different local authorities this agreement was reached.
On November 30 there will be another meeting in which logistics and biosafety issues will be defined.
The Pass is a local religious tradition that takes place every December 24 and even before the start of the pandemic it gathered more than 500,000 people, according to estimates by the Ministry of Tourism.
In 2020, the procession was suspended due to the coronavirus, but this year it was decided to resume it with proper health care.
Weeks ago, priest Joffre Astudillo, the Archdiocese’s communication secretary, publicly declared that the Passage of the Traveler Child was going to take place on Huayna Cápac avenue, because it was wider and to avoid crowds. However, this proposal was totally discarded and changed to the original layout. This is Bolívar street between Coronel Tálbot and Presidente Borrero, being the only time of the year that this is occupied in the opposite direction.
Thus, according to Astudillo, returning to the historic center is a definitive decision, there is no turning back and the next step “will be to meet all the requirements, starting with the procedures to have the contingency and biosafety plan (…). The important thing is the approval and comprehensive support of each of the control institutions, “he said.
The Passage of the Child Traveler not only consists of a great march of people in a street, there are also artistic manifestations and families that for several decades have organized to give away drinks, breads, candies and bananas to the participants.
Diana Cárdenas, coordinator of the Hermano Miguel youth group, affirmed that they will continue, but have asked them to apply certain hygiene rules. For example, the Cornejo family, which always distributes about 10,000 liters of chicha, this time will deliver the drink in closed plastic bottles and not in open glasses that were previously filled with a jug.
Likewise, to Carmela Llivupuma and the nuns of Carmen de la Asunción, who usually give bread, they explained that each unit must be in a cover.
Another common element in this religious-cultural manifestation of Cuenca are the allegorical cars. On this issue, Cárdenas said that maximum two-axle vehicles will be allowed, whose owners must request a safe-conduct in the curia.
Likewise, he anticipated that the drivers will be explained their location and other technical details to take into account during the event.
In addition, to avoid clutter, fences will be placed at each of the intersections. Although the organizers are aware that an agglomeration of people could generate complications and possible infections of COVID-19, Cárdenas called for everyone to keep a mask protecting their mouth and nose that day.
Although the Pase del Niño has a religious origin, over time it also harmoniously merged with the cultural. Pablo Coronel, representative of the artists’ collective, affirmed that the nearly 1,500 members are happy with this news because for them to participate is something unique, which is why it was even recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of the State.
As Cuenca, he defines this procession as an act of unique joy that for Catholic believers, who are the majority of marchers, their faith will reappear, especially to give thanks to life and have survived the lethality of the coronavirus. (I)
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