Antioquia, Christmas 1792
On the other side of the world, in the green mountains of Antioquia, Christmas unfolded in a way that would have seemed strange to any European traveler. There were no fir trees brought indoors, no glass ornaments, no candles hanging from branches. Instead, faith took shape through ritual, community, and shared warmth—expressed not through decoration, but through presence.
Carlos Gómez had decided that this year, despite the growing tension with the authorities and the uneasy silence surrounding Antioquia, Christmas would not pass quietly. If uncertainty had settled over the land like a gathering storm, then all the more reason, he believed, to remind people of what they still possessed.
