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History: It all started in 1829 when the local parish priest, Francisco Virgil de Quinones, came up with the idea of getting some neighborhood kids to bang on sheets of tin in order to wake up the lazy church members and get them out of their homes to participate in the nighttime celebrations of advent masses and the midnight mass on Christmas eve. In time this odd ruckus developed into a full fledged festival complete with music, dancing, parades with decorated floats and other strange contraptions.
Today: Las Parrandas has turned into a sort of mock war between two quarters of the town, converging on the central square for a final showdown. The San Salvador versus Carmen in an attempt to either burn down the town or maim and wound as many onlookers as possible, shoot off homemade fireworks in a competition that also includes huge illuminated structures and elaborate floats, all the while rum and beer flow from every direction (similar to the fireworks). This is a once in a lifetime “must see”. Listening or reading the stories, looking at pictures or even watching videos of this event do not even come remotely close to the feel, smell and sounds of actually being there. If you are anywhere near the town of Remedios in the province of Villa Clara on Christmas eve, just do it!
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