The Armero curse

Armero, Colombia, was destroyed by mudflows from the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in 1985, and over 23,000 people died. In Armero Guayabal some people still say a murdered priest had cursed the town.

In 1985 the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted in Colombia. The U.S. Geological Survey says mudflows ran 100 km in under four hours, leaving more than 23,000 dead, injuring about 5,000 and wrecking over 5,000 homes. Armero, where the Lagunillas river's canyon opens out, was hit worst: three in four of its 28,700 people died. The BBC reported that the volcano had rumbled for months and that Armero's residents had been told by the authorities they could safely stay. Semana puts the toll at more than 20,000.

The curse story concerns a priest, Pedro María Ramírez Ramos, who was murdered. The Spanish Wikipedia says people commonly claim he cursed Armero before he died, 37 years before the mudflows. Semana reported in 2017 that people in Armero Guayabal still repeat the curse on street corners and use it, like a legend, to explain the disaster.

The Spanish Wikipedia repeats a further claim: that the red-light district and the cemetery were the only places left intact, perhaps as thanks from the priest's spirit to the sex workers who gave him his first burial. It also cites religious testimony against the curse, which says his last words asked for his killers to be forgiven. Semana reported that he was to be beatified by Pope Francis.