“Let’s not forget the dead”. Animero and Violence in Puerto Berrío, Antioquia (Colombia)

Abstract

This article describes a popular religious practice: the worship of the Souls of Purgatory and the dead bodies thrown into the Magdalena River in Puerto Berrío, Antioquia. This practice is a current belief maintained through the figure of the animero, who represents the identity, devotion, and community memory of the port, enhanced by the corpses that run aground along the river banks and that are religiously adopted by its inhabitants. In these rituals, the locals give names to the corpses, they bury them with dignity and pray for them against the oblivion desired by their perpetrators. Adopting the victims with unknown identity or John Does in this area, severely affected by the armed conflict, helps to recreate the memory of the dead and thus strengthens the identity of the corpses in relation to the figure of the animero. This description was achieved through participant observation, interviews with the locals, and the life story of the current animero.