For about 200 years, the people of Masaya have celebrated San Jerónimo, starting with the descent of the saint on September 20 of each year and the main day of the celebration is the 30th of that same month, when he travels through a large part of the city of flowers, accompanied by thousands of devotees from all over Masaya and other departments of the country.
Later, on October 7th of each year, the octave is celebrated, which is a reminder of the beginning of this festivity, in which Tata Chombo is carried on the shoulders of the members of the brotherhood who are in charge of carrying him in a procession for 14 hours throughout the city. Then, between masses on October 30th, the traditional parade of the Toro Venado del Malinche de Doña Carmen Toribio takes place, in which dozens of devotees and traditionalists dress up with animal heads or characters from national public life.
The festivities in honor of San Jerónimo really begin on August 15th of each year when the steward arrives at the church of the same name of the saint to “ask for permission” to begin this religious celebration of the Catholics of Masaya. In this activity the steward is accompanied by the beautiful Indian woman and the queen of the festivities; he is also accompanied by members of the Council of Elders and the Brotherhood of the Torovenados, as well as a large group of chicheros and faithful Catholics.
As part of this celebration of the doctor of the church, San Jerónimo, every Sunday in October and November various dances and processions take place in the streets of Masaya, such as the diablitos, the dance of black women and the húngaras, as well as the traditional torovenados, accompanied by the inevitable marimba rondallas.
The festivities of San Jerónimo conclude on the first Sunday of December each year, making this the longest patronal celebration in Nicaragua with nearly three and a half months of festivities. In addition to being the longest solemnity, it is one of the most attended in Nicaragua along with that of Santo Domingo, in Managua, and the procession of San Benito, in León, on Holy Monday.
As in Managua, Saint Jerome, like Saint Dominic, is not the patron saint of the people of Masaya, he is the Virgin of the Assumption, but the celebration is not as big as that of Saint Jerome, the doctor who cures without medicine. In the case of Managua, its patron saint is Saint James the Apostle.
This celebration, full of colour, sounds and traditions from the town of Masaya, attracts dozens of dance groups that gather in the streets and houses to show off the best of their repertoires.
Saint Jerome is a member of the calendar of saints of the Catholic Church, and was born into a well-off family in the city of Stridon, in present-day Croatia. As part of his clerical heritage, Tata Chombo translated the Bible from Hebrew into Latin, which is known as the Vulgate and was recognized at the Council of Trent as the biblical text authorized by the Catholic Church. This saint died in the year 420 AD, at the age of 80.
