I'll just start by thanking the generous and accommodating Solis Family for their hospitality and fun loving nature. I'll explain.
My unofficial guide to Cuenca, Lorena (who I introduced briefly in First Thoughts), had invited us to her uncle's 50th birthday party that was being held in the valley outside of the city. I should tell you about Lorena's family. Her parents own a hotel in the heart of Cuenca called La Orquidea, which is where my Dad and I rented out a suite for the month. Her parents also own three houses; one in the city, one in the valley and one in a coastal town called Salinas. My Dad and I have been here just four days and we've already been to two of the three houses. We've also been invited to Salinas and will be going there in the next week. They're great, hospitable people and they've made our stay here very comfortable and inviting thus far. Now, on with my story!
After an hour drive into Azuay county, we finally came to a series of dirt roads which lead to a hidden community surrounded by a range of high mountain peaks. We arrived in the Yunguilla Valley, tucked away in the bosom of the Andes. (This valley is also home to one of the previous CEOs of the Coca Cola Company whose main hobby is the buying and selling of Arabian horses. There are probably 50 or so roaming through this man's gigantic range.) After a brief stop at Lorena's parent's house to grab some party supplies, we drove over to her uncle's house. I sat in the bed of a pickup truck with Lorena's sister and her two nephews, Juan, 14 years old, and Juan Cristobal, probably around 6 years old. Juan Cristobal was asking me all kinds of questions in Spanish that I could hardly understand, all the while gripping a Captain America action figure. He would ask me something, and I would just look at him with a sort of confused look on my face, and then he would laugh, and then I would laugh. Oh, the infantile stages of learning another language! One thing you must remember is that laughter is the greatest communication tool at this point in the learning process. Laughter demonstrates one's humility, as you orally and visually display your lack of understanding mixed with your good sense of humor. This also helps take the tension off and allows one to see the language barrier as a small hurdle easily cleared with a running start instead of The Great Wall of Language.
People were chatting and sipping drinks in different groups around a large courtyard in front of the house. We got out of the truck and joined the ensuing festivities. As I made my way toward the house, a person walking by mumbled something inaudible in Spanish and then causally handed me a beer. I was liking this party all ready! I was then introduced to Lorena's cousin Andrea who, to my surprise and delight, had spent a few months in Beijing and could speak Mandarin Chinese. I couldn't believe it! We shared some stories about China and then she took me to meet another friend of the family who spent time in Kunming. Her name was Tami and she could speak Mandarin just as well. "This is awesome!", I was thinking. I never thought that I would happen to meet someone, let alone two, rather attractive girls, who could speak Mandarin in the middle of an Andean valley in Ecuador. Life is full of surprises isn't it?
An hour or so of speaking Mandarin and broken Spanish went by and it was time to eat. The feast consisted of an array of fresh vegetables and, as the main dish, a traditional, Ecuadorian-style roasted pig. The beast is propped up on a spit and it's succulent, tender meat is sliced off per helping. The skin was crispy fried and dissolved on the tongue, seeped into the taste buds and sent warm, waves of pleasure throughout the brain. As we ate, a few people came around with a pitcher of rum and coke and two glasses. They filled the two glasses a quarter full and handed them to two people sitting next to each other. The two companions would salute, then down it all. Without changing the glasses for new ones, the bearer of the almighty rum and coke pitcher would continue on to the next pair. This custom continued for the entire night, without interruption.
After the pig gorging feast had concluded, (I was later to realize that this was just Round 1 of said feast) it was time to dance. After all, how many parties in Latin America could be complete without dancing and music? (The answer is none) In came the musicians! This particular act was a duet who played the native Pasillo music by way of the guitar. Check the video below: (this was their first song, no one was dancing quite yet)
It was during this time that I came to a profound realization. It had only been 4 days since I was in Beijing, on the other side of the world. Now, I was in the middle of the Andean mountains, totally immersed in a different culture and lifestyle. I had officially become a citizen of the world, a global nomad. The sun enveloped my being in it's light and warmth. It was drawing me into it's burning core of inspiration and enlightenment. Welcoming me to the world again. And I find it interesting that I should have had such a thought in a land where the native people worshipped the sun as a god. And I understood why one should think that the sun was god. After all, it does provide for most all life on this planet and it was the main component in the creation of their ancient calendars. It's sheer magnificence and particular beauty at that moment caused me to revere it in the highest sense. I thanked the world for its gifts and returned to my surroundings.
Just then, the last mellow Pasillo ended and the minstrels started in with the dancing music. I was pulled out into the middle of the courtyard almost immediately. The next thing I knew I was being taught a traditional Ecuadorian dance by some of the older women. Shortly after that, I was dancing a two-step Pasillo while twirling my hat around in the middle of a circle they had made around Tami and I. Every few beats or so the circle would close in on us and everyone would raise their hands and shout. I quickly learned that because I had the hat, I also had the option of choosing any one of the ladies from the circle to have a one-on-one dance in the center. It was like some kind of courting gesture in which a man chooses his lady based on the quality of the dance. (Oh yes, it's good to have the hat!) After a few brief dances with my chosen women, it was time to pass on the hat to any one, male or female, of my choosing. So, I passed it to my Dad and got him in the mix.
The minstrels completed their set as our side of the Earth turned slowly away from the Sun and into the darkness. Now it was time to turn this party up a notch. First there was a series of blindfolded piñata destruction. After the candy was all collected, everyone put on masks and started blowing whistles. Then a large circle formed and Lorena's uncle was dancing in the middle around two 1 liter bottles of rum. It looked like some tribal dance in which we were worshiping the gods of rum and spirits. (hiya heya! hiya heya!) Then the sound of fireworks tore abruptly through the clear, starlit sky and reverberated off of the mountains and down the length of the valley. I took break from dancing and walked over to where some people were standing next to a pickup truck. I noticed that there was a giant, wood carving of a bull in the bed of the truck. (How I didn't notice it before was beyond me.) I asked what it was for by saying, "¿por qué?" and the only words I could make out were 'fire' and 'sky'. Then somebody told me, in broken English, that it was very dangerous. A brief inspection revealed that this entire bull was rigged with fireworks. I imagined how the lighting of this curious design would play out, however, I was soon to learn just how clueless I was. My Dad walked over also to inspect the strange wooden thing that resembled a bull. People then began to instruct us on how to grab onto a set of two handles that protruded from underneath the bull's body. We thought they were just showing us how someone walks around with it until they started pointing towards the courtyard where everyone was still dancing. I didn't understand their Spanish, but I understood that we were meant to walk into the crowd and simulate the action of a bull charging at people. I had no idea why we were to do this. What does it all mean?!?!?
After a few awkward chases around the courtyard, someone came over and lit one end of the white wiring that was strung around the ligneous steer. Two other people grabbed the handles and then the thing started exploding all over everyone. Check the videos below:
I apologize about the video quality, (it was recorded on my phone which kept running out of memory space), but you certainly get the idea of what was happening. In the background you can hear the music and the whistles. In the last video you can see streams of sparks spewing out of the bull's horns. This was the steer's last stand before it was retired for the night. It was UTTER madness!
