Our first hint that it was going to be a good time came around mid day when we started to notice young men all over the city in drag. I continue to be amazed at the dichotomy between this religiously conservative country and it's wild side. To see the young men of the city dressed in drag frolicking in the streets as their family stood by cheering them on was a riot. Apparently, the idea is that they are dressed as widows. They are all over the streets and even go to work in full drag (fake boobs, high heels, padded butts and all). They tend to stand on corners and on streets and will block traffic begging for money. I wish I had taken tons of photos cause it was hilarious and a great time, but I only got this one:
The other major part of the day involves something called Muñecos. A muñeco is a small effigy of a person (some are recognizable and others are nondescript) made from old clothes and stuffed with whatever convenient material is available; straw, newspaper, old shoes, etc. At midnight, the muñecos are set on fire in the streets symbolizing an end to all the ills of the previous year and a fresh start for the new one. We noticed the sales of these 'dolls' everywhere for about a week. I don't understand how Bart Simpson, Thor, Captain America or Yogi Bear represents someones ills and issues, but we saw lots of them!
We had been told by several people that these muñecos would be set on fire at midnight as part of a giant celebration on Avenue Amazonas (one of the central streets that runs nearly 20 miles through the city). So, after dinner we headed out with our friend Graham to hit the streets and find the party to ring in the new year. Quickly, we ran into a family burning their muñecos in the middle of a huge street. Graham ran in for a photo and they loved it so posed their remaining muñecos with him:
We thought this was a good sign of the huge party to come, but our expectations were way off! As we continued toward down towards Amazonas the streets got more and more quiet. It was strange because this part of the city is usually jam packed with people day and night. As we got closer, we asked a few people where the party was and they said there wasn't one and maybe we should head to the Mariscal, which is the tourist section to find people. So, off to the Mariscal we went only to find that it was relatively quiet as well! It was very strange, but we quickly made the best of the situation and found ourselves at a Shawarma restaurant where we enjoyed some beers, shisha (tobacco smoked out of a water pipe), and great conversation with some very nice Pakistani men. Here's a blurry photo of me with the owner and the giant shisha pipe.
Despite the very different scene and unexpected company, we had a great time and hung out until midnight when all hell broke loose. All of a sudden we started to notice guys setting out some fireworks right next to us and Graham urgently suggested that we leave our table immediately. Next thing we knew, we were literally in the middle of a giant amateur fireworks display right in the street! At one point some guy actually picked up a burning firework and started chasing people. It was crazy and very dangerous, but luckily we made it out without a scratch but with a great memory. Again - NEVER in AMERICA!!! It all happened so fast and we were just trying not to get burned so we couldn't take too many photos, but we got this one at the end.
Once it was a little safe to move again we started to wander and see what else was happening. We found more burning piles of muñecos, like little bonfires everywhere:
Eventually we stumbled across a group of people who were taking it to another level by jumping the flames. Here's a video, notice Graham at the beginning and Spencer at the end taking the leap into the new year:
It was a great night overall!
HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!!! We miss all our family and friends stateside and hope you all had a great holiday season.
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