Top 5

  1. El Salvador's 'Balls of Fire' festival
Each August 31 in the El Salvadoran town of Nejapa, a festival takes place by the name of Bolas de Fuego, or 'Balls of Fire'. Alarmingly, the name is entirely literal, referring to the burning lumps of petrol-soaked cloth that young men hurl at each other during the festivities! Locals dispute the origin of the tradition, with some claiming it commemorates a volcanic eruption and others more piously asserting that it is instead a reenactment of a fireball fight between San Jerónimo and the Devil. What nobody would dispute, though, is that this is one festival to watch from the sidelines rather than participate in!

Journey Latin America's Ed Welham, who lived in El Salvador and saw the spectacle, said it was "absolutely exhilarating and unique. The streets of Nejapa were literally blazing as two tribes - faces menacingly painted - waged war. With crowds of observers shouting and jeering, the participants took part in a display that seemed to belong to a different era - certainly one without health and safety regulations."

  2. 'Radish Night'
On December 23rd, in Oaxaca, Mexico, one of Latin America's odder Christmas traditions takes place (and that's including the habit of Caracas locals to rollerskate to church on Christmas Day!). Giant radishes are grown in the run-up to Christmas for the sole purpose of carving them into nativity scenes and other, often elaborate, creations, which are then displayed to thousands of visitors during the noche de rábanos. The tradition stems from colonial times, when in an attempt to encourage Mexicans to grow non-native crops such as the radish, Spanish monks suggested that they carve them to attract customers at markets. The idea caught on in a big way.

  3. International Witch Convention
On the first Friday of March each year, the forces of witchcraft and wizardry gather in Catemaco, Mexico, to exercise their talents and earn a few tourist pesos. Healers, shamans, soothsayers and witch doctors are all welcome to take part in the annual cleansing ceremony that takes place at the witching hour on Cerro Mono Blanco and which forms the central rite of the festival.
Catemaco has a strong association with witchcraft at any time of the year, due to a mixture of indigenous tradition, medieval Spanish influence and voodoo practices from West Africa, but since the first convention in 1970 it has become a popular place for locals and tourists alike to experience the area's black-magic ceremonies.

Image: with thanks to Félix Márquez.

  4. The 'Potato Queen'
Cajamarca, in northern Peru, hosts a beauty pageant with a difference. Villagers come from the surrounding countryside to show off their finest spuds, with local girls in their best dresses parading the produce around a square. According to members of Journey Latin America who stumbled across the pageant on a recent trip to Peru, it was somewhat unclear whether the girl crowed reina de las papas, or queen of the potatoes, was the one judged the most beautiful or the most adept at potato growing!

  5. Las Alasitas, Bolivia
This event, which takes place on January 24 in La Paz, is above all a festival of aspiration. Its key ritual is the burning of miniature versions of desired objects - be they wads of cash, university diplomas or cars - in the hope that Ekeko, the Bolivian god of plenty, will be forthcoming with the real versions. Seeing the tiny objects on display gives an interesting insight into what the average Bolivian hopes for - with dollars being a far more popular choice of miniature currency than the local boliviano for example. You can also buy figurines of Ekeko himself - who is rather partial to a smoke - with a special cigarette hole provided.