The Sounds of Cuenca

When we were researching San Miguel de Allende and other parts of Mexico, we came across an expat site that explained that one doesn't move to Latin America for peace and quiet. This is true.

I've come to believe that Ecuadorians (and other Latinos) just don't hear noise the way I do. Ron's pet theory is that Latinos believe that death is quiet, therefore life should be loud. It's a full and joyous expression of being able to suck air into one's lungs; proof that you "are". For me, the cornucopia of sound that encompasses daily life here is often overwhelming, sometimes diverting and, almost always, unexpected.

I've written before about the barking dogs, car horns and alarms. I've waxed on about the home and business alarms that sound off endlessly and the "sonidos" that are used to call the faithful to prayer at the churches. (Imagine a cannon going off next to your bedroom, that's pretty well what they sound like. If it's close enough the windows rattle, not the best way to start the day.)

So why, you may ask, would any peace loving gringo retire or even vacation with all of this nuisance noise?  For all the other noises. The marching bands that parade down streets for no known reason, the children's choir, the symphony and the random concerts. For the chimes of the nearby church that play Ave Maria, which floats over the air and falls calmingly on my ears. It's the  long string of HUGE speakers that run along the shopping streets, all playing a different Latino classic. I'm here because I'm waiting for the perfect record of bad karaoke to be broken and to enjoy the actual fireworks that flower in the sky on any given evening. (Sometimes even during the day...I'm still trying to figure that one out.) I'm here for that fleeting moment of silence, on a Sunday morning, before all the other sounds rush in.

My point, I guess, is that yes, life IS noisy here. It's not a serene island with bobbing palm trees and endless expanses of white sand and blue ocean. It's vibrant and reminds those of us that take life for granted that we should celebrate the fact that we're above ground, where the flowers bloom, rain falls and the earth continues to rotate.