HISTORY: festivity

San Juan Festivity is celebrated in June 24th. But the festivity starts one night before. In June
23 th at night, men and women are supposed to go to the river to purify each other. The
legend said who take a bathe in those river will have happiness and health all year. That
tradition begins in San Juan Bautista indigenous community. There is a temple built in the last
decade of the XIX century by Aypena rivers ethnicity to honor him.
In that period, a lot of people was hired to extract latex in the limit of Ecuator. But they were
exploited by their boss. So, they escaped to the jungle. In the way, they found a cabin with two
images in it: one about San Juan Bautista and the other about a Virgin.
They decided to take them to protect their rout. For that reason, one of that people, Manuel
Mozombite Chota founded San Juan de Miraflores in honor of San Juan Bautista.

FOOD:
Iquitos People going to go to purify river June 23. They participate in the Bao Bendito. The
people believe San Juan blesses the water courses. The people, who bathe in them, will have
happiness, heath and work throughout the year.
The next day, they go to mass and procession in the neighborhood of San Juan to. They are
prepared for the residents of Iquitos. The procession is accompanied with drums, flutes and
drums. Then, there is a gang dance. The people dance around the palm tree laden with gifts.
This is known by the name Humisha or Unsha.
The typical dish in this celebration is Juane. It is made with eggs, rice, olives, coriander and hen
pieces to the ranch. All of this is wrapped with bananas plant laves or bijaos plant laves. The
juanes wrapper is a round shape. It represents the head of the saint, when the Herodias
daughter ordered to bring the juans head on plate.
And, the typical drink is chichi de jora. Also, there are sports championships, National Craft
Fair, Native Dance Festival, allegorical parades and other activities that are fun and inclusive.