Like most countries in Central and South America, Nicaragua’s independence was won from Spain. In some countries Spain held the field till the bitter end and there were fierce battles. In other countries, like Costa Rica, their power and control was more gently transferred.
On the net, BBC lays out a timeline of Nicaragua’s history, a country that has been meddled with by Spain, Britain, and the United States from its inception.
There has been a succession of dictators and strong men here,but,at the moment, revolutionary Daniel Ortega, American President Ronald Reagan’s nemesis, remains in power, duly elected, true to his Marxist theology.
This birthday finds Nicaragua moving forward,but escaping your reputation is daunting.
The people in this celebration audience are attentive and polite as political speeches come rolling out of political mouths.
There are probably some in the crowd that wish Nicaragua still belonged to Spain, but they don’t have the microphone.
Consensus is nearly impossible to achieve, these days, on just about any issue.
Leaders wish us to obey, but what they really do, their entire elected term, is try to herd us cats where we don’t want to go.
I hear and follow the rhythms.
This gathering, at a Calzada street intersection, is a neighborhood parade of girls in traditional dress, a brigade of drummers, a crowd following the action. This little group is practicing for a much larger extravaganza celebrating the Independence Day of Nicaragua on September 15.
Drummers work themselves into a groove and the dancing is choreographed on the spot.
Turning a corner, the assemblage marches away and I finally stop following.
An old man with a cane also watches them turn, then goes inside his hotel. When he walks he sticks the end of his cane in front of him, and then moves his body forward to stand by his cane.
His marching days are over but, as he watches the band, his cane taps its own rhythm on the sidewalk.
The game isn’t over until you have no heartbeat, and, then, you have no rhythm either.
This affair starts early.
Usually, people wait till dark to do their exorcisms, but this bunch has already laid their body in the street in front of a business and are stuffing papers down its pants.
In a world of camera phones, nothing goes un-noticed and un-reported. These participants don’t care if people are watching. It is probable this is a replica of their boss and they are, as a group, telling him what they think of him. It takes a few matches before smoke comes with fire close behind.
There is something eerie about seeing a body set on fire, even if It is a make believe body.It calls up images from the Mid East where real people are set on fire, heads cut off, and people blow each other up with explosives..
This bloodletting will be over tonight and tomorrow shops will close, streets and sidewalks will be hosed down, and people will spend time with family.
Exorcisms are best finished quickly, and remembered for a long long time.
On the 24th of December there is a massive Christmas parade through downtown Cuenca.
On the 25th of December, the day officially celebrated as Christ’s birthday, there is a much smaller and simpler celebration at the New Cathedral across from the Parque Calderone.
Entering the park, you see people gathering in front of the Cathedral. In the street are decorated cars, children with angel wings seated on saddles, and a marching band of old men in suits, white shirts and ties waiting to march and celebrate with their trumpets, saxophones, trombones and bass drum.
Coming out of the church, is a small doll carried on a platform supported by the broad backs of men and women.
As the doll is carried from the darkness of the church interior, into the sunlight, believers throw rose pedals in the air and make way for a procession.
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus and Easter celebrates his conquering of death.
Romans worshiping Caesar must have felt much the same as they watched him being carried through his city in much the same way.
The big difference is Caesar couldn’t give life after death.
The Christmas Parade on December 24th is the full Monte.
It is an all day affair with the parade route being prepared at seven in the morning and the end of the parade passing Calderone Park at seven in the evening. It is music, floats, dancers, walkers, Christmas religious scenes, traditional Ecuadorian dress, people watching, cars, horses, vendors selling food and drink, photographers, drones, flags, security, television cameras, children climbing over fences, sleeping babies.
Each neighborhood in and around Cuenca has an entry in the parade. There are smaller neighborhood parades leading up to this massive event, but this is the Mother of all Parades.
It is part religious, part ceremony, part showmanship, part outrageous. When you get this many people together there is no end to diversions and entertainment..
Closing streets and letting people dress up and parade without penalty is Cuenca’s Christmas present to itself.
These two couples, just married, are getting their wedding photos taken in Parque Calderone.
When I first see them they have, with them, a young bearded tenor sax player playing ” Here comes the Bride ” on a street corner.
Their little photographer is contorted to get the right angle for his shots, the young women are smiling and laughing. Their new husbands look bemused and eager to please.
The entourage crosses the street, the ladies lifting white gowns so they won’t get them dirty, They take more photos by the spot where I witnessed official ceremonies celebrating ex pats, good business prospects, and a new transport system.
The last wedding I happened upon was in Montevideo, Uruguay on Sarandi Street.
This is just as memorable.
Everyone is happy, and, if they stay that way, they will be together when they are old.
They are, as a friend once told me, about rapping his knuckles on stones on a square in Russia, ” Marking the Moment. ”
When people are shut out from having a say about what happens to them, by those they have elected, protests are inevitable.
Some protests move into chaos and violence,some are contained, others are snuffed out like the tip of a burning candle.
I make myself invisible, slip away, and don’t get home till late because streets are blocked off, going and coming.
Protests seldom lead to solutions, but they create emotions.
Governments can be toppled on emotion.
No government exists that will give us what we want without taking away what we need.
n.
There is political and social unrest around the world.
This protest in Parque Calderone centers around recent Constitutional Amendments approved by the National Assembly in Quito. Ecuador has a representative democracy and it is written in their Constitution that the people must directly vote on changes to their Constitution.
This protest focuses on four of 12 recent amendments. The first eliminates term limits for some elected officials. The second affects the right of government workers to organize and strike. The third concerns the use of the military for police work. The fourth deals with freedom of speech and press.
The police presence is odorous and they use tear gas, swat teams, and horses to keep protests isolated and small. People trying to join the protest, or see it, are diverted away from the conflict.
What is striking is how few come out to protect their rights being changed by the stroke of someone else’s pen.
Too many people aren’t protecting their freedom.
Too many people still fantasize that the State is their friend.
On a Carol tip, this event celebrates the integration of foreign ex-pats into the Ecuadorian community.
In a city leaning towards five hundred thousand there are estimates that twenty thousand Americans have relocated to Cuenca, not that many for Ecuadorians to be worried about. This event also celebrates foreign investment, transportation projects,and large business developments involving overseas partnerships.
The festivities take several hours to set up, several hours to accomplish, and several hours to break down. When the speeches are over there is food served. In Ecuador, pork is popular. and, this afternoon, chickens and cattle drink at the same bar and toast the pig for taking their sword.
Ex- pats bring money, know how, ideas to Cuenca but Ex-pats don’t always blend with Ecuadorian culture, language, or politics.
Americans must bend to meet Ecuadorians, but Ecuadorians know change is inescapable.
Their children have cell phones, surf the net, and live in a world turning into what their parents dread.
People and ideas have always migrated around our planet.
Smart countries are always concerned about the quality and quantity of those who cross their borders.
As quick as Thanksgiving goes, Christmas is nipping at its heels.
The girls at Crazy Canuck’s, on a Friday afternoon, have opened cardboard boxes and are decorating.
Stockings hang over the liquor shelves, tinsel is hung around the bar’s ceiling, an upside down Christmas tree with blue lights gives us an upside down perspective, peppermint sticks are just out of arm’s reach. On Thanksgiving we give thanks, but on Christmas we pay homage, say our prayers, and put ourselves in our proper place.
I am getting the Christmas spirit.
When I see Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, he will be in speedos, have sunglasses, and have a beach girl on each arm.
Why Rudolph’s nose is red is another bar story.
Recent Comments