The story
Fiesta de San Juan en Chiloe in Chiloe
On the archipelago's coldest night of the year, Chiloe lights bonfires that blend the Catholic feast of Saint John with older island beliefs about surviving the dark months. Neighbors gather around the flames with mate, sopaipillas and milcao, trade folklore about the archipelago's legendary creatures, and read small omens for the coming year. It is a scattered, community-level tradition rather than one central spectacle, best experienced by joining a local fire.
June 24 falls near the shortest, coldest day of the year in Chiloe, and the archipelago marks it by lighting bonfires that have less to do with the Catholic feast of Saint John the Baptist and more to do with older, pre-Hispanic ways of getting through the dark half of the year.