Carnival

Carnival sucks!

Today is the last day of Carnival, thank God! What madness it has been! Women and foreigners are walking targets for water balloons and squirt guns, talcum powder, and shaving cream. Guys walk up to you and spread paint or motor oil on your face. Gangs of boys will hold you and pour crap on you. When I leave the residence, I am armed with a large can of shaving cream (especially created for Carnival). The can of cream doesn´t prevent the attacks, but I can get even with my attackers. Retribution feels sooooo goooooood.

Carnival started last Saturday, and ends today. And there was the PRE-Carnival water bomb squirt gun attacks that took place the prior week. During the actual days of Carnival, groups of people dress in traditional Carnival costumes and march in an endless procession of groups through the city center. Marchers do a little traditional dance. People in the crowd shoot water, cream and talc at the marchers. Marchers shoot water, cream and talc at the people in the crowd. Marchers stop and drink booze along the way. Marchers and non-marchers start drinking after lunch and continue drinking and dancing all night long.

Carnival in Ayacucho is much more tame than Carnival in Brasil. And we wear more clothing. (Thank goodness. Some sights are not worth seeing.) Apparently many children are conceived during these five days, so many that there is a festival in November that celebrates the births of Carnival-conceived babies.

Our residence participated in the parade. They taught us a simple dance, and we wore traditional costumes. Women wore a white skirt and blouse, a striped manta (a cloth used to carry things on one´s back), and a white hat with a black ribbon. Men wore black or brown pants, a white poncho, and a brown or black hat. The women did the dance choreography, and the men walked behind us playing instruments (or pretened to do so). We also hired a group of rasta-looking musicians to play traditional music. And we had a capitain who marched in front. Our capitain was tall and thin, and was dressed in purple, with a long purple cape and mask that made look like the psychotic from A Clockwork Orange. We received a lot of applause from the audience along the route. We walked for four hours in the hot sun, but we did manage to stop for a beer along the way. It was fun, I guess.

I´m so happy that Carnival ends today.

cheers,
Stacey