Noche de las Velitas 2018

The Noche de las Velitas, or night of the little candles, is an annual celebration marking the start of the Christmas season. People light candles on sidewalks and windowsills. But it's also a time for families to sit in the street and talk with each other and neighbors.

The velitas tradition is particularly strong in La Candelaria, Bogotá's historical center. However, it seemed to me that this year I saw lots fewer candles lit than in previous years. Is the tradition waning?

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

The Night of the Little Candles

Tonight was the annual Noche de las Velitas (the Night of the Little Candles) in La Candelaria, the symbolic beginning of the Christmas season.

The beginning of the consumer Christmas season, of course, started more than a month ago.

A bit surprisingly, this sweet and innocent tradition has a sinister past involving close mindedness and violence. In 1854, Pope Pius IX issued an Encyclical declaring that the Virgin Mary was "immaculate," or untouched by original sin.

Pius's supporters celebrated his decree with a candle-light march, beginning the 'little candles' tradition.

All this says a lot, of course, about what the Catholic Church values in women, and its hostility to a fundamental biological function. But Pius went further. To ensure that no future Pope - or anybody else - would ever call into question Mary's immaculatedness, Pius ordered that anybody who expressed doubt about Mary's immaculatedness be prohibited from speaking, and that all literature doing that be banned. To doubly ensure the certainty of his theology, Pius also ordered that anybody who persisted in questioning the immaculatedness, receive multiple "mortal blows," reports Semana magazine.

Isn't it a lucky thing that religious institutions are no longer in charge of most educational and research institutions?

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Plaza San Victorino UInder Guard

A police line on Plaza San Victorino today.

Plaza San Victorino, known for the nearby stores selling inexpensive toys, clothing, housewares and

Barricades on the plaza's west side.

other things, is sealed off these days. The city fears, reasonably, that, given the chance, street vendors will invade and occupy the plaza, as they have done many years before as Christmas neared. 

Some years, police invaded, the vendors rioted, and the police used tear gas. This year, they want to avoid those crises before they happen.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Christmas Around Plaza Bolivar

The crowded, lighted Plaza Bolivar.

The Justice Palace.

A blind beggar sitting beside the Cathedral...

gets some coins.

The Cathedral of Bogotá, in lights.

A couple with lighted flowers.

A Fidel Castro impersonator.

Selling lighted buttons on Carrera Septima.

A llama, or other camelid, poses for visitors on Plaza Bolivar.

Rosario University, lit up in green.

Santa says hi.

Observing Monserrate with telescopes on Carrera Septima. I'm not sure what the great interest is.

Women snack on ice cream while walking across Plaza Bolivar.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

San Victorino Gets the Xmas Spirit

Want some stylish shorts?

You know it's Christmas season when you can't walk across Plaza San Victorino.

The plaza is the center of Bogotá's budget, often pirated, clothing retailers. As Christmas approaches, the plaza fills up with informal sellers, to the chagrin of nearby stores, which pay rent and taxes. In past years, police have tried to clear the sellers away, sometimes causing riots. This year, authorities appear willing to let them stay, just as long as they leave space for pedestrians.

According to El Tiempo, some vendors are sleeping on the plaza in order to not lose their vending spots. And perhaps also to save on rent.

Need a pair  of shorts, a football jersey or a swimming pool to finish off that Christmas shopping list? Hurry on down!

Counterfeit football jerseys are always in style.

Socks for sale.

Want a ´poncho?

After dark, the scene's still hectic.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

The Night of the Little Candles

My annual photo essay on La Noche de las Velitas, 'The Night of the Little Candles,' in La Candelaria. This is the symbolic beginning of the Christmas season.

Lighting a candle on La Plaza del Chorro de Quevedo.

A colorful evening for El Callejon del Embudo.

Richard, 78, has lived in this house on Calle 12b for 35 years, during which he's seen the La Candelaria neighborhood become much safer. 

Candles on a balcony.

Dancing on Calle 10.

Candle lighting on La Plaza del Chorro de Quevedo, where Bogotá was founded.

A replica of an old streetcar descends Carrera 2, past La Salle University.

A replica of an old streetcar descends Carrera 2, past La Salle University.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours