What's Goin' on in Ecuador?

As much fun as it is to travel, sometimes it's just interesting to make note of what's happening in my temporary home. It's almost never a dull moment, considering our peaceful existences.

Cuenca is supposed to be the proud home to a light rail system, but general issues like contract disputes, budget shortages etc have delayed the project which was supposed to be completed over three years ago. Recently, a new contract was signed and Tranvia is supposed to be completed by the end of September. The mayor has just updated us and said that even this isn't going to happen and that it likely won't be until 2019. This isn't surprising. The good news is that affected businesses will receive some financial compensation. (I mean, really, where else does that happen?) Once it's completed, the buses running through the city will be reduced and that's a good thing.

Less of this would be good.

We've also had some legal excitement with the existing government. The Vice-President was removed from office for being caught up in a bribery scandal. A South American company (Odebrecht) regularly used bribery to win large  contracts both private and public. Sr. Jorge Glas, was found guilty and is serving 6 years in prison in Quito. The conviction wasn't exactly surprising. The reach of Odebrecht was huge and many countries have been affected. Politicians, CEOs and other people of import have fallen because of their greed. Sr. Glas has been replaced by Maria Alejandra Vicuña. (Yes, the country is going to hell, we have a President in a wheelchair and a woman (gasp!) as second in command. We've come a long way, baby!)

"Damn, I'm caught."

The current President (Lenin Moreno) is on a mission to clear out corruption, even though many Ecuadorians feared that he would only be a puppet of Rafael Correa, the previous leader. This has not been the case and Correa (who seems to share a lot in common with the big sensitive baby from the USA) has gone on the offensive, as Moreno goes about fixing many things that were wrong and addressing the concerns of various groups. Correa would be amusing if he wasn't trying to undermine a very popular and effective President.

Ex-President Correa, likely whining about something

The whole health insurance thing is still up in the air and the new fees for the universal health care are being challenged in court, but I suspect that the requirement for coverage will stand. There is going to be a special meeting with the President and a special auditor to discuss Correa's handling of health care costs during his tenure. I'm pretty sure that there's been a whole pile of mismanagement, false filings by doctors and other little scams that have drained the system and created financial chaos. It's rumoured that Correa told the head of IESS (the medical system) to not bill the government for outstanding costs, as they didn't have the money and that it had happened for several years, basically bankrupting the system.

Like I said, never a dull moment. Who knows what other dirty little secrets will come out during the various investigations. Perhaps we should start a pool to predict when Tranvia will be complete or who will be brought to trial next.

Get Your Party On - Cuencano Festivals

There's really not a bad time to come visit Cuenca, or Ecuador in general, but if you want to party with the locals in a focused and purposeful manner you might want to visit during one of their major festivals.

El Año Viejo (New Years Eve/literally "the old year"):

Think fireworks, bonfires and effigies (called viejos or años viejos). Not everyone gets this idea, as effigy burning has a different connotation for many people. Here, it's just a way to get rid of the bad feelings from the old year and send out wishes and prayers for the coming year. The effigies are often familiar and beloved characters filled with fireworks and hand written notes that express the dreams for the new year. The pictures may look like we've just survived a civil war, but the only battle is between the communities for best effigy installation. This is a family friendly event, with even small children hopping over the bonfires to have good luck in the new year. Top this off with fireworks and the new year is a pretty great experience. (December 31)

Hoping to win the World Cup

 

Pick a mask

Pick a body and make a Viejo

Then set it on fire and jump over it 3 times for
good luck!

 Dia de los Santos Inocentes (Day of the Innocent Saints or sainted innocents):

Parades are a common occurrence here, but this is one of the larger ones. This parade is a light hearted (and sometimes not so light) mockery of all the little issues that bug Cuencanos through out the year. A particular favourite with the locals, especially the children, expect to see expat's being made fun of and other interesting floats and costumes. The satire is heavy and the parade, held on the last day of the celebrations, has been going on since colonization. (December 28 to January 6)

 Carnaval:

This isn't for everyone, but if you like water fights, this might be the time for you to visit. Cans of fun foam, bags of flour and water guns are de rigeur. For the most part the Ecuadorian youth have been educated to not wantonly attack foreigners, but it's been known to happen - an unexpected jet of water from a passing car, a water balloon from a roof top or a random drive by foaming. If you're prepared for it, it's a pretty good time. The foam doesn't stain your clothes, the water dries and the flour can be shaken out. Be prepared to have people ask you if it's okay to spray you. Of course, if you're packing (either cans of foam or water guns) that makes you a free target right away. The final weekend culminates in huge water/foam fights down in the local parks. Parque Calderon is awash in foam. (The two weeks prior to the Lenten season)

Corpus Cristi (Body of Christ):

The streets are packed with sweets vendors and the square around Parque Calderon is blocked off by the local barrios firework towers. Every night during the festival, the towers are lit up and an incredible display of close up (and I mean close up...mind your clothes) fireworks. Spinners and sparklers work their way up the tower until the top gets lit up and ends in an impressive show of more traditional fireworks. Usually two towers a night are set off. Don't worry about being able to stay awake, with all the sugar you've imbibed during the day (the vendors have something for everyone), you'll be ready to watch the spectacle.
(Held the 9th Thursday after Easter meaning usually in June)

 

Tres de noviembre (The Third of November):

This is the day of Cuenca's liberation from the invading Spanish. The celebration is held over a three day long weekend and features a huge artisanal market along the banks of the River Tomebamba (Toe-may-BOM-ba), feature artists throughout the cities galleries and museums and closed streets throughout the city. All manner of goods can be purchased and many artisans come from all over South America to participate. There are also free concerts and what would a celebration be without fireworks and food?
(Held the weekend closest to November 3rd.) 

Pase del Niño Viajero (Passage of the Traveling/Wandering Child):

If parades are your thing, then this is a must. The desfile (Spanish for parade) is an event a year long in planning and you'll need to eat your Wheaties if you're going to see the whole thing. It's not unusual for the parade to last for 9 or more hours and it features all sorts of music, floats and groups of Indigenous dancers. It mixes the sacred with the profane. (I've seen the Virgin Mary riding a bicycle decorated like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.) If you're lucky you can score a place in one of the surrounding buildings that offers a balcony over looking the festivities. We usually go down for a while in the morning, break for lunch and possibly a nap (depending on how warm the day is) and then head back for a second round in the afternoon. Be prepared for throngs of people who don't adhere to the regular rules of parade viewing. The parade is often stopped to push back eager viewers to the curb of the street. Children can score candy, thrown from the floats and if it's hot enough the fire department will be out offering to hose them down with water. (Held December 24th)

Of course, there's a lot more going on here. Parades spring up with no notice and there are also art, music, food and even orchid festivals throughout the year, but the festivals mentioned above are fairly big and don't tend to change dates or times of year. Come anytime and have a fantastic holiday, but plan to try and hit some of the big events if you can.

Parades Parades Parades!

I confess it. We skipped the annual Paseo del Niño Viajero parade this year. We did go downtown, but except for checking out the little kids in their traditional dress and eyeballing the occasional decorated sheep, we just cut through the crowd and went to buy some wine.

Yup, sheep wearing food...go figure!

I know, I know...how could we? We've raved about the parade and all that it entails, but seriously...twice was enough, at least for the time being.

That doesn't mean we missed out on the fun, per se. We had three parades march past our building and came across another parade on Boxing Day (that would be December 26th for those of you that aren't part of the Commonwealth). 

Peek-a-boo Parade #1

Note bus waiting patiently for parade #2 to pass

Cristo Rey Parade (#3) Preparation

The street in front of our apartment

These are pictures from the Boxing day parade that we accidentally came across coming from the new cathedral. It's obviously a celebration of plenty and gratitude.
 

Chancho!

And accompaniments

Cuy on a bed of roasted potatoes

Bean garlands

Dessert

Giant bottle of booze on a horse

Last minute present? Vendors around the cathedral

He seems quite pleased with his wings.

Roasted chicken eating a $10 bill

We had our usual stroll, late New Year's Eve to check out the big community installations. This year's theme was "FIFA Corruption" apparently. Some of the displays weren't as impressive as they've been in past years, possibly due to the affect of oil prices and the economic slow down, or just because rich fat cats scamming the system is a fairly usual thing in South America and didn't engender any boiling outrage.

Año Viejo Effigies

Could you burn Mario?

This guy was huge, maybe 6'5"

What? They're a roller coaster, can't you tell?

Burning of the Año Viejos

 What we didn't do is stick around for the fires. Instead we headed back to the castle (the apartment - as one of our friends calls it) to watch the fireworks. Many of the families that stay in the city buy fireworks and not just the little cracklers or screamers, but the big, bright colourful ones that you see on Canada Day or during the Symphony of Fire...whatever it's called now. In El Centro, you can hear them going off, but because so many of the streets are narrow, you only get to see a select few. We were curious as to how big the display really was.

One firework

It...was...BIG. Bigger than we could have imagined. As soon as it gets dark (sometimes earlier) they start. Until about 11:45 they're random, scattered around the city and fairly sporadic. And then you get close to midnight and the real show starts. We have a 180 degree view of the city and as the fireworks became more regular I tried to tape a bit of video. And then the horrible thing happened. I ran out of memory card. Yup, just as it was really warming up and I could record the best part. We stood at our window, in awe of the completely dazzling display. The fireworks kept going fast and furious until about 12:25, so we had a good 40 minute show. They wound down a little after 1:am, but continued to go off through the night and over the next couple of days. (I've mentioned that Ecuadorians love their fireworks, right?)

I find myself at a loss for words to describe what we saw, but it was magnificent. I'll be ready for next year, with my large memory card and a perch on the roof of our building. As we've told many friends, if you really want to experience Cuenca at its best, the holidays are the time to visit. There isn't a ton of commercialism during Christmas, but there are decorations and the city gets busier leading up to parade day, so you do get that "feeling". It's just too bad that you can't be in a lofty perch and in the heart of the New Year's festivities at the same time, so plan to come back to experience one or the other the next time. 

More pictures from the parade:

Little Angel

Big Angel (narrowly avoiding a wardrobe malfunction)

Getting ready to mount up

They grow facial hair young here.

The three "wise" guys..er...men

Colonial Influence

Traditional Dress

This little guy could barely stay awake

His parade mate isn't impressed.

So stoic

A dress big enough for a horse.

And the band plays on...

Christ Child a la "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

More Traditional Dress

Riding in style

Angel in a toque...a must for every parade

This Christ Child makes almost every parade.

Well, that's it for the crazy holiday season. In a little while Carnival will roll around with all its fun and then we'll be off to the other side of the world for a while. Until the next post, be well and savour life, because it's short.