The Spanish Festival Where the Devil Jumps Over Babies
In the Spanish village of Castrillo de Murcia, a highly unusual tradition has endured since 1621. During the festival of El Colacho, men dressed as the devil sprint down the streets and leap over mattresses laid on the ground. Upon those mattresses lie babies born during the previous year. This dramatic ritual is believed to cleanse the infants of original sin, guard them against illness, and chase away evil spirits.
An Enduring Village Rite
In the small village of Castrillo de Murcia, nestled in the province of Burgos in northern Spain, an extraordinary custom has played out every year for centuries. Known locally as El Salto del Colacho, or simply El Colacho, the festival centers on a theatrical confrontation between good and evil that culminates in an act that can astonish outside observers: grown men dressed in bright costumes run at full speed and leap over lines of infants resting on mattresses in the middle of public streets.
The festival has been documented continuously since 1621, though its roots may stretch back even earlier into regional folklore. It takes place annually during the feast of Corpus Christi, a moveable feast on the liturgical calendar celebrated in late spring or early summer. Organized by the local Confraternity of the True Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament, the event brings together the entire rural community to usher the newest generation into the social and spiritual fold.
While the spectacle draws international curiosity and occasional bewilderment due to the apparent physical risk, for the villagers of Castrillo de Murcia it remains a serious communal tradition. It is not performed as an adrenaline stunt or a modern tourist gimmick, but as a living rite of passage passed down uninterrupted through hundreds of years of village history.
The Devil in Yellow and Red
The central figure of the celebration is the Colacho himself, a costumed character embodying the devil. Clad in a vibrant, mismatched suit typically composed of bright yellow and red fabric, the Colacho wears a grotesque mask or carries an oversized set of castanets and a whip made of horsehair or a leather switch. Throughout the multi-day festival, several men take on this role, darting through the village streets to taunt onlookers and chase local children and youths.
This theatrical pursuit involves reciprocal mockery. As the Colacho roams the cobblestone roads, villagers shout traditional insults and jeers at the devilish figure. In response, the Colacho charges into the crowd, swinging the whip to lightly strike the legs of those who provoked him. This ritualized cat-and-mouse game builds tension and excitement across the town, setting an energetic stage for the solemn rituals that follow.
By personifying the devil in physical form and subjecting him to both mockery and eventual defeat, the townspeople symbolically conquer evil forces. The Colacho's frantic movements and menacing behavior are deliberately contrasted with the orderly, sacred elements of the Corpus Christi procession that follow in his wake.
The Ritual Leap
The climax of the festival arrives on the Sunday following Corpus Christi. Mattresses are carried out from homes and laid carefully in a line along the procession route through the village streets. Families who have welcomed children during the preceding twelve months bring their babies out and place them gently on top of these mattresses, often resting on soft white sheets and pillows decorated with flowers.
As the crowd falls into a quiet hush, the Colacho appears at a run. Gathering speed down the street, he leaps cleanly over the mattresses and the infants lying upon them. In a matter of moments, the costumed devil clears the children without touching them, landing firmly on the other side and continuing down the road to repeat the jump at the next station along the route.
Immediately following the leap, the atmosphere shifts from tension to relief and blessing. Village elders and members of the religious brotherhood move forward to scatter rose petals over the infants. A local priest, leading the accompanying Eucharistic procession, blesses the babies, who are then gathered up by their parents amid applause and celebration from the community.
Folk Beliefs and Spiritual Cleansing
According to traditional regional belief, the leap of the Colacho acts as a form of spiritual purgation. As the devil character soars over the mattresses, he is thought to absorb and carry away the original sin of the infants, freeing them from moral taint. The act is also believed to shield the vulnerable babies from physical disease, malevolent spirits, and the 'evil eye' during their early years.
The ritual demonstrates how pre-Christian fertility and protection rites frequently merged with Catholic traditions in medieval and early modern Europe. Leaping over fire, objects, or people has ancient precedents in European agrarian folklore as a method of purification and boundary-marking. In Castrillo de Murcia, these older folk practices became tightly interwoven with the liturgical framework of Corpus Christi, creating a unique hybrid ritual that satisfied both popular superstition and church-centered devotion.
Even as modern understanding of medicine and theology evolved, the protective symbolism of the leap retained its emotional resonance for local families. Entrusting a newborn to the village rite remains a profound expression of communal solidarity and parental hope for a child's health and good fortune.
Church Orthodoxy and the Modern Era
Despite its integration into the Corpus Christi festivities, the practice of baby jumping has maintained an uneasy relationship with official Roman Catholic doctrine. Traditional Catholic theology teaches that original sin is washed away exclusively through the sacrament of baptism with water in the name of the Trinity, not through theatrical folk rituals or leaping over infants.
Over the years, ecclesiastical authorities have expressed skepticism or outright disapproval of the custom. Catholic leaders, including directives emerging from the Vatican during the papacy of Benedict XVI, have urged Spanish clergy to emphasize conventional baptism and distance official church ceremonies from the baby jumping rite. In particular, church officials have sought to clarify that the Colacho’s leap has no sacramental validity.
Nevertheless, the local community has resisted calls to abandon the tradition. Instead, the village maintains a delicate balance: the secular and folkloric jump by the Colacho occurs in coordination with, but distinct from, the formal liturgical procession of the Blessed Sacrament. The persistence of El Colacho highlights how deep-seated local heritage can endure alongside institutional religious norms, preserving an ancient spectacle that bridges the sacred and the profane.
Key takeaways
•El Colacho is an annual festival in Castrillo de Murcia, Spain, documented since 1621 and celebrated during the feast of Corpus Christi.
•Men dressed in yellow and red devil costumes sprint and leap over mattresses holding infants born during the previous year.
•Folk tradition holds that the leap cleanses the babies of original sin and protects them from evil spirits and illness.
•Although Catholic authorities discourage the ritual in favor of standard water baptism, the village continues the practice as a cherished cultural heritage.