Advertisement
Published: December 30th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Going whole hog in celebrating Christmas
Yes, that´s a pig, a roasted one with a fake 1000 bill in his mouth, part of someone´s float or car or something in the Pase del niño parade in downtown Cuenca. Happy holidays from Cuenca, Ecuador!
I arrived in Ecuador 6 days ago for my first visit here in 2 1/2 years, joining my daughter Agustina and her mom here in Cuenca on Christmas Eve Day. Pachi and Agustina arrived 6 days before me and will stay for another 40 days past my return to Austin, Texas on the 6th of January. I am very proud that my beautiful daughter broke-in her mint condition passport on the day she turned 3 months, traveling to an entirely different continent and hemisphere to visit her mom´s home town.
The time has really flown by, each day filled to the brim with activity. I arrived on the 23rd in Guayaquil, Ecuador´s largest city, a hot coastal city that differs quite a bit from cities in the Sierra--the Andean mountains that form the backbone of this small South American nation. I was greeted by my father-in-law Rodrigo at the airport, a kind gesture. The image that sticks in my mind is this: the few planes worth of passengers that were arriving late that night were greeted by a throng pressing hard against baracades and each other, all trying to catch a glimpse of some
Santa Clause is coming to town
In case you were wondering where Santa was on the afternoon of the 24th, he was in Cuenca, taking part in the parade. loved one arriving for a Chistmas visit. In countries like Ecuador, airports are places of strong emotions: great joy at the arrival of some and bitter sadness at the departure of others.
Rodrigo and I found a cheap hotel near the airport, dropped our bags off and headed out in search of some late night food. He works for the only Toyota importer in the country, and the alarm went off at 4:30 am so we could go pick up a car that he was to relocate to Cuenca. That´s what he does for a living, and I was lucky enough to catch a ride. Once outside of Guayaquil, the steamy coastal highway we traversed was lined with random businesses here and there, mostly very poor dwellings--shacks, many on stilts--and banana plantations for as far as the eye can see (Ecuador is the world´s top banana exporter and provides nearly a quarter of the bananas consumed in the US).
Soon, we began to climb. The tropical lowland gave way to different vegetation, then cloud forest: mountainous terrain with lush vegetation kept moist by, quite literally, clouds. Above the clouds, things get even more spectacular. It´s incredible to look
Foggy mountain breakdown
The rugged Andes jut out from the cloud-filled valleys as my father-in-law and I take a roadside break somewhere between the steamy coast and the sky-high paramo en route to Cuenca. I had to include this one, even though it has nothing to do with the holiday theme of this entry. down on the clouds and out at Andean peaks crashing though them. To go from sea level to Cuenca at 2300 meters (7500 feet), you have to drive through Cajas National Park, which ranges from 3150m/10,300 ft to as high as a dizzying 4450m/14,600ft. There, it´s what you call ´paramo´, a high sierra landscape with a very limited and distinct set of vegetation. In Cajas, the great (and endangered) South American Condor flies high above the mountainous landscape and hundreds of lagunas that dot the park, and it´s truly something to see.
Not long after arriving in Cuenca and greeting my mother-in-law Zoila, sister-in-law Juana and her son Lucas who live in the house where we stay, Pachi, Agustina, Juana, Lucas and I headed downtown for the famous Pase de Niño Viajero parade, roughly translated as the Passing of the Traveling Child. It´s a Christmas parade with a distinctly Latin American and Catholic flair. Él niño viajero´is a doll of baby Jesus made early in the 19th century that a priest from Cuenca in the middle of the 20th century took with him to holy sites in 8 countries around the world. He (the little guy, that is) was
Carrying the child
Cuencanas dressed in indigenous clothing--although these Cuencanas are not indigenous--carry a baby Jesus through the streets of downtown Cuenca as part of the Pase del niño parade. put in the manger where Jesus was supposedly born in Bethlehem, and he also went to the site where Jesus was supposedly crucified. The pope at the time also gave the baby Jesus a blessing before arriving back in Cuenca.
Now, a parade is given in his honor each 24th of December, and what a parade it is! This year, it is said to have lasted over 7 hours. Adults and children alike dress up in costumes directly related to the Nativity story, characters like shepherds, Joseph and Mary, angels, the wise men, Romans and the like. Others get mixed in, including Santas, mariachis and indigenous peoples, among others. Cars, strollers, carts, horses, donkeys, flatbed trucks, you name the form of transportation and I can almost guarantee that it gets decorated or used as a float. The decorations are mostly offerings to the Christ child, and they take on a very peculiar and regional flavor. Sweets, aji chile peppers, limes, eggs, cuys (guinea pigs), chickens, and much more become part of the decoration. Throw in dancers, free snacks, musical ensembles, and thousands of people lining the streets, and you have quite a scene.
I have tried to give
Whassup?¿!¡
I´m not sure how this little dude´s costume fits in, but he was not the only kid dressed up as a mariachi in the parade. Too cool. you the readers of this blog a feeling of this through several pictures I´ve included in this blog entry. I also threw in a couple of videos of the action for your viewing pleasure. I hope to be able to add a couple of more entries before I return in just over a week, including for sure a can´t-miss entry about the absolutely insane New Year´s celebrations here. I´d love to receive any comments you´d like to send, and I hope you keep checking back.
Chao for now from the heart of the Andes,
Shaun Hopkins
aka, Juan Jose
aka, El Gringo Trotamundos
aka, Señor Hopkins
Advertisement
Tot: 0.116s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 12; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0508s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Linda Pieper
non-member comment
It was indeed a colorful Christmas
How much fun for all of you. I am happy that the new family of three could be there to share memories and events with the Morales family. What a colorful, celebratory Christmas! Ours was quiet, relatively but enjoyable in its own way. We had the traditional ham, special desserts type dinner. Amanda was our guest and an old friend from my past, Perry. While you were missed, we smile thinking of your fun adventures and times with family. Enjoy! We hope to see Aoife and Keara this upcoming weekend for a late holiday visit. They have been busy with their guest from Japan and riding new Christmas bikes. Our love and best wishes to you, Pachi, our sweet baby, and the Morales family for a wonderful New Year.