Was announced a new edition of the We Tripantu Rankül celebrations

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The Ranquel New Year, which is celebrated on the winter solstice, will take place with festivities at the Ranquel Market of Santa Rosa, located on National Route 35, Kilometer 318.5, next Saturday and Sunday, June 21 and 22 respectively.

Yesterday was announced a new celebration by the indigenous communities marking the arrival of the new sun (winter solstice), “We Tripantu Rankül.” The event was led by the Secretariat of Tourism, Saúl Echeveste, and the representative of the Rankulche Nation Confederation, María Inés Canhué. The Secretary of Tourism addressed those present and emphasized that “this year we are presenting a new edition of We Tripantu Rankül, and we want to invite you to participate in this celebration that marks the return of the sun and the beginning of a new cycle for planet Earth and the renewal of nature. It is also an opportunity to celebrate and respect our knowledge, our customs, our values, and the identity of our Indigenous peoples. At the same time, it is an opportunity to reinforce our commitment to caring for our land and to strengthen the construction of a more just, equitable, and united community. This celebration is important, but it is equally important to respect our cultural diversity. Therefore, on behalf of the Secretariat of Tourism, we would like to invite all the people of La Pampa to attend each of the celebrations that will be taking place throughout our province,” he concluded.

Meanwhile Canhué thanked Echeveste “for emembering us and for sharing this important and cherished celebration for all Indigenous peoples: the return of the solar cycle. It’s good to remember and ask ourselves, ‘Why do Indigenous people celebrate in June and not in December?’ The truth is, we should all be celebrating in June, our new year, our solar cycle. If you look at the Northern Hemisphere, they celebrate Christmas and New Year’s on the Winter Solstice. New Year’s was extended by a week, but originally it was the date of the solstice, the New Year for the Indigenous peoples of Europe and the North. Here, we celebrate it where it belongs to us,” she continued.

“In the Southern Hemisphere, we are celebrating the beginning of a new sun, and this is something that has been done for millennia in this territory, and millennia is no small thing. We are talking about a very long time in these territories, celebrations that were silenced and prohibited by the genocide that we all know occurred in these lands. Before, the celebration lasted four days, which is a bit difficult now, but well, so the communities now choose which of those four days works best for each community to hold this event. In the case of the Ranquel people, whom I can speak about, we have the gathering in Emilio Mitre on Saturday and Sunday the 21st, organized by the Wenche community. There is also a gathering in Córdoba, organized by a Ranquel community from El Campillo, but they hold it on the 23rd and 24th. They also celebrate in Victorica on the 21st,” she concluded.