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LENCA CULTURE

The lenca population in La Paz, Intibuca, and Lempira, according to history and stories told about the Bloody (or tenacious) wars”, gives faith of a revolution that tended to the union of the provinces.

There are tens of myths and legends that had being made up about the municipalities that make up Colosuca, transmitted in an oral way at night when families and friends gather around the hornilla (made of mud, where the food is cooked).

This traditions represent a very valuable treasure of the idiosyncrasy of Colosuca.

There are many historians in Colosuca that tell myths and peculiar data, whose kindness and attentive way of treating people interested in information about the region will always be available if you so want it to be.

 

 

LA CAMPA

Also called Tecauxinas, native Word for “Cane Water” as it was originally called, is located 16km from Gracias.

According to legend, a hunter found an image of St. Mathias and took it to Cruz Alta, and the image kept on appearing in the very same spot he found it.

Its fair is held on February 17-27; with much joy it includes the celebration on the Guancasco.

Its famous Lenca pottery extends to the borders of our country. You can make your own pottery piece and take souvenirs to you family and friends.

 

 

 

SAN MARCOS DE CAIQUIN

Welcome to the smallest town of Colosuca! It only measures 96.58km2 . It became a municipality in 1994 and it is all surrounded by pine trees.

Its San Marcos church was built with marinates, lime, and canto in mid 1750. It is located to one side of the central plaza, and it is a clear example of the baroque style.

Its patron fair takes place on April 23-25, where there is a variety of games and religious customs.

Here, you can find the most beautiful women of Lempira, because it’s been said that a french man came to Guanajulque of San Marcos de Caiquin, reason why most of the girls have blue eyes. Can it be?

 

 

SAN MANUEL DE COLOHETE

The meaning of its name is no reason not to enjoy this place. San Manuel de Colohete, means “Nest of Scorpions”. It measures 182.94km2. Its fair is celebrated on December 6-8 in honor of the Virgen de la Concepción. Before you get to San Manuel Colohete, you can take a detour to El Naranjito, another route to get to Celaque.

 

 

 

SAN SEBASTIAN

San Sebastian is located 13km from San Manuel Colohete. Originally it was a small town that belonged to Gracias, but now it measures up to 221.95 km2.

San Sebastian’s church was recognized as a national patrimony by the Honduras Institute of Anthropology and History, it was built between 1750 and 1800.

In San Sebastian, you can find El Alta, a popular site among tourists.

 

 

 

BELEN

Let’s meet Belen, Lempira. It was originally called Curincumque, a native Word for “Place of the Houses”. Its greatest charm is that there are three colonial buildings: the Mayorship of the municipality, the Hermitage of Belen, and church of the Virgin of the Rosary.

Its Patron Fair is celebrated in October 6-10 in honor of the Virgin of the Holy Rosary. In Belen we make events such as jaripeos and rodeos, soccer championships, and traditional games.

 

 

 

LOCAL GASTRONOMY

Food cannot be left out! If you really want to enjoy our kitchen’s good taste, Colosuca has great restaurants and diners that samples our region’s traditional recipes with 100% natural ingredients.

We have Ticucos, corn flour, beans and plants such as Chipilin, and to top it off, loroco flower.

The anafres are a delicacy which is best served really hot: fried beans and melted cheese with tortilla chips.

For dessert we have Ayote with honey (pumpkin), this is a fruit grown in fertile ground, cooked like the best cane juice, ideal for drinking with liquor and some lemon drops.

Being these, very tall lands, this is a perfect weather for coffee, that can be enjoyed with warm out-of-the-oven sweet bread.

If at the end of the afternoon you wish to have a snack, you can find women on the streets selling out of their big baskets, yuca ( a root) with fried pork, fresh bread with different flavors, ticucos, and much more.

If you want something to drink you can have fruit juices such as raspberry, tamarind, maracuya, peach pit, guanabana, guava, and granadilla, amongst other exotic fruits. You can also taste the delicious horchata, a rice based beverage, atoles or the warm nectars of pineapple, orange, and more.

FAIRS AND CELEBRATIONS

In each municipality that belongs to Colosuca, we celebrate cultural Traditional Celebrations, Patron Fairs, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year, in this particular celebration we build big dolls filled with fireworks that symbolize the old year that is just finishing (and with it all the bad things that happened), giving way to a new year filled with hope.

These celebrations are made with the family, and its local gastronomy’s best moments.

The Guancascos

Guancasco is a native word that means “Pact of Peace”, it’s one of the most beautiful traditions of Honduras. The Guancascos celebrate as the other patron fairs. At the fair both towns involve in the tradition of guancasco, one of the patron saints visits the other in the middle of a popular celebration.

A mask, becomes a magical instrument and serves in tradition to establish spiritual contact and personify demons, deities, and mythological heroes. That is how there is always a host town and a guest town. A very important rule is that the visitor gives back the same enthusiasm.

In Colosuca the involved patrons are: St. Sebastian and St. Lucia from Gracias, San Matthias from La Camapa and the Virgin of the Rosary from Belen. The celebrations are made in their own dates: San Sebastian is host on January 20th, San Matthias is host on February 14th, the Virgin of the Rosary on October 10th, and Santa Lucia on December 13th.

July 20th: Day of the Hondurans

Pretty lenca girls, called “Indias Bonitas” (pretty natives) with beautiful typical dresses.

The “Señor de la Sierra” (lord of the mountain range), is the meaning of Lempira. He is remembered every July 20th like a standard of bravery and patriotism when in 1537 he made a heroic stand in to the invaders in Cerquin, a mountainous region.<

 

 

 

 

MYTHS AND LEGENDS

Bulero

It has been said that many years ago, in one of Gracias’ fairs, the Mayoress of the city was playing cards with other aristocrats from the city. There was a bulero (person who sells papal favors or privileges) who decided to play as well.

At the end, the Mayor’s wife cheated, the bulero of course did not want to pay, and far from that, he gave her a tremendous slap in the face. The whole town went after him throwing stones at him, but he hid behind a statue of St. Lucia. They say that the angry mob made a stone hit the statues forehead, which scar can still be seen.

Due to what happened, the town went many years through a curse until a priest brought prosperity back to the city.

The Duende Falling in Love

They say that the Duende was a naughty angel, who used to play the guitar very sweetly and made some very romantic poems. One day he was expelled from heaven because he liked women too much. To this day if a woman gets to see him, she must say to him: “Remember the music from heaven”, this will make the Duende run away crying, because indeed he remembers the music from Heaven.

The Siguanaba

Don´t think that men can easily escape from indiscreet affairs! The Siguanaba is apparently a very lovely lady that men find near a stream at midnight. She lures men and when they start to fall for her, she turns into a horrible creature. The only requirement for this being to appear is that the men are unfaithful to their wives or well be named Casanovas; however, the single flirty guys are not so relieved about this appearances.

The Songs of the Gritón

A few years ago, there was this man who used to like to yell at midnight in the highest parts of towns, the mountains, edges, hills. He gave four screams, one for every cardinal point: one mountain to the North, a hill to the South, the edge to the East, and in the cemetery he gave the scream to the West. Nobody ever knew where he came from or what happened to him, but they say that it was Satan himself and the mule ( an animal that comes out by crossing a horse with a donkey) that he used to ride was a woman turned into a mule for being unfaithful to her husband.

The Colosuca

They say that she was a widow with four kids, since she had been left alone she asked God for help and he listened. But she doubted what God told her for getting food, so he punished her by turning her into a bird named the Colosuca, which is why this region is called that way.

Mr. Mito Galeano, a descendant from the Galeano Trejo family, can tell this story much better.