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Photos show Venezuelans celebrating Holy Innocents’ Day

Photos show Venezuelans celebrating Holy Innocents' Day | iNFOnews.ca
Revelers take part in the centuries-old Afro-Venezuelan Holy Innocents celebration in Caucagua, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

CAUCAGUA, Venezuela (AP) — Hundreds of people in northern Venezuela took to the streets for the annual Bandos and Parrandas of the Holy Innocents of Caucagua, a celebration rooted in Afro-descendant cacao-growing communities.

Marked on Dec. 28 alongside the Catholic Feast of the Holy Innocents, the festivity dates back more than 200 years, when enslaved people were given the day off and turned it into a moment of satire and resistance. Today, participants preserve that rebellious spirit by wearing costumes inspired by plantation owners and using humor, riddles and parody to poke fun at authority.

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This gallery was curated by AP photo editors.

AP photography: https://apnews.com/photography

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Photos show Venezuelans celebrating Holy Innocents' Day | iNFOnews.ca
Revelers take part in the centuries-old Afro-Venezuelan Holy Innocents celebration in Caucagua, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Photos show Venezuelans celebrating Holy Innocents' Day | iNFOnews.ca
Revelers take part in the centuries-old Afro-Venezuelan Holy Innocents celebration in Caucagua, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Photos show Venezuelans celebrating Holy Innocents' Day | iNFOnews.ca
Revelers take part in the centuries-old Afro-Venezuelan Holy Innocents celebration in Caucagua, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Photos show Venezuelans celebrating Holy Innocents' Day | iNFOnews.ca
Revelers prepare to take part in the centuries-old Afro-Venezuelan Holy Innocents celebration in Caucagua, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Photos show Venezuelans celebrating Holy Innocents' Day | iNFOnews.ca
Revelers take part in the centuries-old Afro-Venezuelan Holy Innocents celebration in Caucagua, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Photos show Venezuelans celebrating Holy Innocents' Day | iNFOnews.ca
Revelers take part in the centuries-old Afro-Venezuelan Holy Innocents celebration in Caucagua, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Photos show Venezuelans celebrating Holy Innocents' Day | iNFOnews.ca
Revelers take part in the centuries-old Afro-Venezuelan Holy Innocents celebration in Caucagua, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Photos show Venezuelans celebrating Holy Innocents' Day | iNFOnews.ca
Revelers take part in the centuries-old Afro-Venezuelan Holy Innocents celebration in Caucagua, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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The Associated Press

Matias Delacroix

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

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