Buenos dias from Santa Ana... well, from Cuenca because Santa Ana does not have internet... still.
Ok, so in my last entry I explained that the past week included the fiestas of Santa Ana as well as the celebration of Corpus Christi in Cuenca. Let me explain...
Imagine you are in the United States... scratch that, you ARE in the United States. Imagine you are at a fireworks display, what do you see? Families seated on blankets on a hillside, kids with popcicles, people cooking hotdogs, maybe some music playing or a band... how nice. In Ecuador, a display of fireworks is a whole different scene. Castillas ("cas-tee-yas" ) are large towers covered in fireworks and other random explosives. These castillas are placed in the middle of the street and lit up. There are no rules about how far away people need to be, no authorities to keep people calm, let alone safe. The fireworks shoot everywhich direction into the masses of people who then knock the burning embers off of each other. I watched a 5 year old boy´s jacket catch on fire and his mother take it off and beat it on the ground only to continue watching the display. The other main attraction of the fireworks display is the vaca loca (Crazy Cow). We begin with a paper maché cow. Attach a bazillion fireworks to the cow, give the cow to a drunk person, light the fuse, and watch the person run around through the people while fireworks whiz in all directions off of said cow. [Insert sad story here] So there I was, with my two host sisters and their group of friends watching the rediculous ritual when we noticed (for about the 12th time) that the vaca loca was headed our way. We took off running as best we could with a mass of people also fleeing the wrath of the cow. 30 seconds later I reached to my jacket pocket to find it unzipped and my wallet missing. In all the chaos, I had been robbed. Luckily I still had my cell phone and was able to cancel my bank card, and report my Peace Corps ID missing. Its a hassle and a bummer but nothing that cant be replaced.
The fiestas of Santa Ana were much more enjoyable. The fiestas were celebrating 130 years of parroquialization. The Parroquia is the local body of government and recently Santa Ana´s Parroquia won a national award which they are obviously very proud of. The fiestas began with a mass (yes, mom and dad I went to church!) followed by a program of dances and finally our very own castilla and vaca loca. In Santa Ana, however it was much more of a spectator event rather than craziness in the streets like in Cuenca. I have attached movie clips of the castilla and vaca loca of Santa Ana.
This past weekend I was invited to a quinseañera which is a coming of age celebration for a 15 year old girl. It was really difficult not to laugh at this one.... We start with 12 damas and 12 caballeros which basically function like bridesmaids and groomsmen for the event. The 12 damas were all wearing pink dresses which didn´t fit so there were 12 little bellies hanging out. The star of the party entered the room in a big poofy dress with a big grease stain on the side and wearing slippers. She sat down, and her mother removed the slippers and replaced them with pink high heels. Next, each of the caballeros removes a garter from the girl and puts it on their respective dama. Then, our little princess takes the mic and (in true adulthood fashion) announces which 3 of the damas are her "best friends" and they come forward to receive and extra garter... that´s right, upon entering her party, this young lady had 15 garters under her gown! The rest of the event was typical- dancing until 2 am.
I know it seems like all i have been doing is party, party, party but I have also been teaching english, visiting schools, researching chickens and sharing meals with strangers, washing clothes on a rock (because our washer is broken), and taking care of my pup.
Alright, well thats about all for today... miss you big time. Kelly
Think of you often. Look for a package ... hope to send it out soon.
Great pics - cuy looks like it tastes great [insert sarcasm here]! Thanks for the update and I'm glad you are OK after that dangerous fireworks display.
-Bo-