Culture of El Hatillo

n. Since the 1766 founding of El Hatillo, a week-long festival honoring Santa Rosalía de Palermo (Spanish: Fiestas Patronales en honor a Santa Rosalía de Palermo) is held in September featuring parades, Catholic masses, and traditional games, concluding with the traditional release of balloons accompanied by fireworks. On Holy Thursday, an image of the crucified Christ is decorated with flowers and paraded around El Hatillo's Plaza Bolívar in the Jesus Christ Procession. Since 1938, Carnival has been celebrated in El Hatillo with dancing, parades, and the election of a Carnival Queen in Plaza Bolívar. The founding of El Hatillo is commemorated on June 12 with organized activities including traditional games, mass, and balloons. A tradition having religious and agricultural significance has been celebrated every May since the beginning of the twentieth century. The third Sunday of May is the festival of Dama antañona, in which residents pay homage to the women of El Hatillo, with typical food and gifts.

Art

The Cultural and Social Center El Hatillo, El Hatillo Art Center, and El Hatillo Atheneum are the local centers of artistic activity. In 2006, Dave Samuels inaugurated the annual International Music Festival of El Hatillo at the El Hatillo Art Center; Samuels was followed by Simón Díaz, Steve Smith, Serenata Guayanesa, Mike Stern and other notable musicians. Since 1999, the El Hatillo Jazz Festival has attracted visitors to the municipality to hear national and foreign jazz artists.

El Hatillo's art culture is rich with handcrafted products. Pottery is a common souvenir for tourists, and there are many artisans devoted to ceramics and pottery in the municipality. The Turgua Group is an artist collective of almost twenty potters and blacksmiths, founded in 1992 by Guillermo Cuellar, an internationally known potter. The group has two