San Juan festivities in Naiguatá, La Guaira state. (Jessica Dos Santos / Venezuelanalysis)
Caracas, June 29, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Thousands of people took to the streets in Venezuelan cities and towns on June 24 to celebrate San Juan (Saint John the Baptist).
The festivity is cherished by Afro-Venezuelan communities in the Caribbean nation, with varied traditions mainly in the central and coastal areas.
In Naiguatá, La Guaira state, the day’s events began with a mass at the local Saint Francis of Assisi church. Afterwards, the saint, representing an infant Saint John, was paraded through the village. Local families either made or paid promises to San Juan, with some hosting the procession at their homes with improvised altars.
The procession was accompanied by Afro-Venezuelan drums and the customary chants to San Juan. Drummers told Venezuelanalysis that the percussion tradition is passed from one generation to the next.
“I started playing drums in the San Juan parades when I was 9, and now I’m 81,” Naiguatá resident Fabricio Manuel said. “And now you see all this youth that has learned from us. It’s a beautiful celebration.”
At the end of the day, the saint was returned to the house of the so-called “custodian” to remain in a decorated shrine until next year’s celebration. La Guaira governor José Alejandro Terán took part in Naiguatá’s festivities.
According to local residents, celebrations such as San Juan are seen as a space of cultural resistance by Afro-Venezuelan communities through music, dancing and gastronomy.
In 2021, UNESCO designated Venezuela’s San Juan festival as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognizing its unique blend of religious, cultural, and ancestral traditions.
