We traveled to Quillacollo. A town about 20 miles from Cochabamba. We had to take a taxi because we were told that the roads were closed and there was no place to park, so a taxi would be the easiest way to get there. We were dropped off at the edge of town, and it was crazy. People, police, and cars everywhere. Little did we know it would get worse, SO MUCH WORSE!
We walked several blocks through sidewalks packed with people and booths selling everything from movies, to kitchenware, to shoes, and food. After blocks and blocks of this, we finally figured out which way the parade was. As we got closer to the parade route, the more packed the people got until you were so packed in you could not move, forward or back. People would just push and push, not going anywhere but packing eachother in tighter and tighter. Now remember you are trying to keep up with whoever you are with, and in my case, that is two children. They say when you travel to stay away from crowds, and this was a crowd. I have never before seen so many people in such a small space.
As we were being "moved" by the crowd, dad broke away and told us to "stay there". Yeah right! The mob moves, you go with it. Mom has one child and I have the other and we are hanging on for dear life. Pretty soon, I see dad at the top of one of the make-shift stands. We make contact, but now we have to work our way back against the crowds to where dad is. We finally make it. You truly cannot believe what it was like. I would not have, if I had not seen it. We climb into the stands that are so tight that Wyatt and dad have to sit sideways, and I sit with my body, literally, between this strange womens legs!
I somehow get my camera out of my pocket and held it in the air to take a picture of us stuck in the mob.
Another mob shot. The camera is held above my head.
So why are we here? This town is the only town in South America that celebrates Urkupina, the holiday of the Virgin going into heaven. It is HUGE. People come from all over the world to see this celebration. This parade goes on for hours and hours and hours! It truly was amazing, once we got to see it. Oh, by the way, our TINY, seats cost $12 each!
There were girls dressed like this, but in all different colors, all through the parade. They would have a band with them and they walk and "swish" their skirts as they go. FOR HOURS AND HOURS. Literally, the parade starts around 10 in the moring and goes way past midnight.
The costumes were incredible. They all had bells or some kind of noise maker on them so you could hear them marching down the street for miles. I am so glad we got to see such a traditional carnival.
Kids and adults danced in the parade and each different group's costumes were so different. Really, one more amazing than the next.
While we were waiting for our cab in Cochabamba we watched the parade on TV. You can see the TV guy in the background. We got to the parade 2 hours after we saw it on TV and going strong.
Look closely at the guys who are wearing marching shoes. They were just these blocks of wood strapped to their feet, with just strips of leather. Can you imagine marching for hours in these shoes?
This celebration goes on for days, but we only stayed about 3 hours and that was all we could take. To get out we literally jumped from the stands, on the back side, into trash and I don't even want to guess what else. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!
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