Objective: This article aims to unveil the sacred and profane elements related to the Festival in Corraleja, especially in the context of the Corralejas tragedy that occurred in Sincelejo in 1980. Theoretical Framework: Bakhtin's studies on carnival and Eliade's studies on the sacred and the profane were combined. Method: A qualitative approach was employed, using the ethnographic method. The corpus of analysis was compiled from various sources such as books, video testimonies, comments on social networks and interviews with witnesses and survivors. Results and Discussion: As a result, it is observed that the festivities legitimize the carnivalesque ritual experienced in the bullfighting festival, where its elements and dynamics are intertwined with the pagan festivities of antiquity, creating a constant return to the cult of the gods. This celebration breaks with the daily routine and acquires a sacred character, allowing the liberation of the body, although it also marks the limit of the sacred since every excess leads to a later reflection. In this way, the image of tragedy finds validation in a series of myths that help to understand the inexplicable. Implications of the Research: The corralejas are festivities that share characteristics with the carnival tradition, and the tragedy of the Corralejas of 1980 is impregnated with the symbolization of the sacred and the profane. Originality/Value: By combining Bakhtin's studies on carnival and Eliade's studies on the sacred and the profane, the research offers an original approach that goes beyond the simple historical account of the Sincelejo tragedy in 1980. This theoretical approach allows us to understand the Corraleja not only as a festive event but as a complex cultural phenomenon that transits between the sacred and the profane.
Barboza et al. (Thu,) studied this question.