Burn the betrayal, burn the stranger: The burning of Judas in Iquique, Chile

Abstract

This article reflects about Judas´burning festivity that takes place every Easter in Iquique, northern Chile. The changes of the central icon of the celebration are analyzed in the context of a city with profound socio-cultural, demographical and political transformations. Finally, a reference is made to the relantionships between the traitor and the foreigner whose destruction allows, at least in a symbolic way, to recover the city that feels like lost.