Guadalupe Fest 2

After the long walk on Friday, there was a public Mass at the sports arena in the middle of town.  They decked the place out with hanging bundles of flowers, and they set up chairs and a stage.  They had moved the statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe and all her decorations to the stage.  (It is difficult to overestimate what a powerful religious figure she is in Latin America.)

Town-wide public Mass on Friday evening

One thing we have learned about our town is that people know how to party.  After mass the dance music started, turned up to 11.  Even though so many people had spent all day walking in the hot sun, they were out dancing until 5am!  Our apartment is about a block from the sports arena where the dance was, and we could hear the music blaring all night.  There were also random fireworks (mainly BOOM-makers) going off all night long.  

The next day the morning was fairly quiet (with everybody sleeping it off), and then in the afternoon the motorcycle races started.  They had brought in bulldozers and created a dirt motorcross track, complete with mud puddles and jumps, in part of the school field.  Nothing gets you in the mood to pray to the Virgin like a hangover and the sweet sound of motorcross engines, I find.  

 The sweet dirt track

Annalise watching the festivities from the upstairs school balcony 

John, Emmett and some of his buddies watching the races 

Gentlemen, start your engines...

After all that stimulation, there was a little break in the late afternoon, and then the party started again.  It began with a crazy fireworks tower, the likes of which I have never seen.  It was kind of like a giant tower of huge sparklers in the middle of town.  

 Crazy sparkler tower

Sparklers in the shape of a cross??  You know it!

Next came some traditional dancing, which was really fun to watch.  Dance troops from all over the region came in colorful outfits to do folkloric Ecuadorian dances.

These dances only went on until midnight -- it was an early night!  Since it was Saturday night, there was a special Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe the following morning.  Word has it that the Padre has been known to cancel mass when people have been up dancing all night the night before, and people either don't show up to church, or they are too haggard to participate.  

On Sunday morning the bishop made a special appearance to officiate at Mass.  What, then could have capped off this wonderful spiritual celebration?  You guessed it -- 4-wheeler races!

Annalise sitting with the family of one of the racers 

A very wide variety of 4x4's competed in the race

Then, Sunday night, more dancing until 5am with the music turned up as loud as it could possibly go, and fireworks throughout the night.  All in all, it was a crazy and fun and kind of overstimulating weekend.  We were all really glad when it was over, and the night time was quiet again.  We have learned that when there is nothing going on here in Guadalupe, there is really NOTHING going on.  And when there is a party, there is a PARTY.