On our way to our next
destination, Puno, we were informed that there was a big celebration going on
in town, and that traffic might be a problem.
The celebration was for the graduating class from the local
university. We reached our hotel just
before dinner, checked in, and my roommate Sheila and I and a few others promptly
went out to find something to eat.
As luck (ha!) would
have it, we were located about a block off of the main street that went through
downtown. Even though the daytime
festivities were finished, nighttime activities were in full swing. A parade had been going on for who knows how
long down that main street, and as we dodged through the people to get to our
restaurant, I took a few photos. The
young ladies were dressed in skimpy outfits with either feathered wings on
their backs, or headdresses with horns on their heads, and chunky high heeled
boots. The young men were dressed as devilish matadors. In
between groups of either all men or all women that were dancing down the street
were marching bands that played mainly big bass drums, smaller drums and all
kinds of horns. It was a very loud and crazy
scene!
I have to mention
here that at least in Bolivia and Peru, and probably most other South American countries,
they party a lot. Any excuse for a celebration,
party, or parade, and this happens quite often throughout the year. I am talking about Catholic religious
holidays, graduations, elections, birthdays, anniversaries, public holidays,
and many more. I have been in Cuzco, Peru twice
in the month of June, and that month is one big party with parades, fireworks, rock
bands and marching bands.
By the time we got
done with dinner, it was dark outside, and I took a few more photos. What do you think of this? Of course with night shots, the shutter stays
open a bit longer, and some photos turned out a bit blurry. In the photos below, though, the matador costumes
were perfectly in focus, so there was no blur.
I only noticed the “blue snake” the next day when I looked back at my
photos. It covers the lower edge of the costume
of the matador on the right, and I would have seen it in the physical if it was lying in the
street. I have to mention that there was
clearly a lot of drinking going on among the parade participants and the
observers, too
I heard the parade
and marching bands going on until at least 1:30 AM, and some of the people in our
group were up until 3 AM. Most of us were
worn out by the next morning, including me.
Our guide Julie said that this celebration was one big event of devil
worship. I believe it!
Hi Carla,
ReplyDeleteI'm finally getting some breathing space in the nonstop pandemonium here since returning from our class, and am savoring each post from your trip south. This blue tentacle photo just dumbfounds me. What else might be dancing between, above and through us had we only eyes to see it? Pretty cool capture of the inexplicable...I'm definitely looking forward to seeing and reading more!
In gratitude and appreciation,
Laura
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had been there with you! :)
ReplyDeleteThe great dragon worship! He he :)))
Don't worry about photos quality!
They are always perfect to me :)))