At the moment we're in the midst of los patronales, a 9-day novena/celebration leading up to the feast of San Francisco de Asis (St. Francis of Assisi), the patron of Bánica, on October 4th. The novena part consists of a talk given by Fr. Gee on some aspect of St. Francis followed by prayers and singing, and the playing of these native drums that are sort of bongo-shaped. (Those are the tall ones you play standing up, right?) If I understand correctly, this drum playing is a tradition that comes from the people's African heritage. The celebration part is basically like a block party for the entire town - there are vendors set up selling food (yucca, fried bananas, goat meat, sugar cane, etc.) and there's music and dancing until quite late. I know exactly when the party ends, not because I'm there at the end, but because my house is right down the street from all the festivities, and I can hear the music just like it was playing in my own room. At the moment, the house is filled to capacity - 4 of Doña Tago's children are in town, along with two more granddaughters, a cousin, and another woman who's relationship to the family is still kind of foggy in my mind. I'm feeling rather spoiled because I still have not only an entire bed to myself, but an entire bedroom.
Up until today, it's been pretty much just folks from Bánica, Pedro Santana, and their campos at the festivities, but starting this morning there have been people coming in from all over the country, and some from other countries as well. I even saw one person who was whiter than I am! Every little town in the DR has their patronales, but Bánica seems to draw more attention than other places its size. Fr. Murphy says this is because of la cueva de San Francisco (the cave of St. Francis).
In between Bánica and Pedro Santana is el cerro (the hill - although it's actually more like a small mountain), and in el cerro is la cueva. Legend has it that St. Francis appeared in this cave, and because of this Bánica has become somewhat well-known as a place of pilgrimage.
More to come later on los patronales, maybe even some pictures...