Fotos of Feria XXXV - Day Three

This fellow is operating a cotton candy
machine that reminded me of the ones
we had at fairs when I was small.

Today will all be about color.... colors that people are wearing, colors of the floats, colors all around. I have noticed in the past that Colombians are very particular about what they wear and whether or not it all 'matches.' If a woman or girl is wearing pink shoes, you can be sure she also has pink in her shirt and in her hair or the purse she carries.

The floats are traditionally quite colorful and show off the products from each vereda as well as what Santander as a whole has to offer... coffee, corn, tobacco, chickens, beans, yucca, mandarins, oranges, mangos, pineapples, and more.

Girl in pink with pink ballon.

This is also the day of the parade - at 2 p.m. - so if a float is not yet finished, you can bet there are teams of people at work on it in the morning. No vereda (shire) would want to be ridiculed for being lazy or shirking their responsibility of being ready for their candidate's display. Remembering back to the representative we sponsored, this is a day of excitement for the families of the girls being presented. The girls are treated like princesses at home, allowed certain privileges not normally permitted, and reminded by their brothers or sisters that after the parade, they will have to return their 'golden slippers and crown' and be normal again. There is a sense that this is a huge joke, but one to be enjoyed to the fullest.

UPDATE: Because the Mayor did not put up roadblocks to prevent people from parking their cars around the park, the parade started very late, and of course ended late as well. There were announcements that people should move their cars, but that certainly didn't happen.

There were a lot of wonderfully creative floats, and I want to post a lot of the photos, but because of all the people here tonight, I cannot get modem speed to upload them. I will post as soon as I have some speed. It turns out that I knew one of the princesses because she was in our Radio/Theatre group and I also do not have the news of who the winners were at this time. More to come...

This was a school entry... Wow!

Casa di Cultura's Flower Float - it
was hard from where I was standing
to get a good shot of the whole thing.

These dancers are not Colombian, but were a lively addition to the event.

This is a giant chicken made from corn cobs and
papier mache... really impressive!

The Casa di Cultura float.

The Casa di Cultura float was indeed among the prettiest, but I don't think we won any awards. The dress worn by our princess was a perfect color for her and for the float.

There were 34 floats in the parade and it took almost two hours for all of them to make their way into the  central plaza for judging. When I find out who were the leaders (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and who was voted into Queenship, I will post an addendum here. There were too many floats to publish them all, so I will set up a Photobucket file and link it for your entertainment.

UPDATE: The young lady voted Queen of Barichara was in fact the only one I knew - Angie! She was also the tallest, and as it happens, is the daughter of one of my ceramic class members. She won a two-night stay in one of the top hotels in Santa Marta since the Mayor's office cannot award something like a scholarship. From what I understand it would be using public funds for a private reward. Perhaps I will work to create a scholarship fund so that the desire to be a princess will be enhanced by the desire to continue their education, too.

This is "Angie" on her float looking like the mariposa she is... lovely!

Fotos of Feria XXXV- Day Two

Cathedral de Barichara

Day Two started earlier (!!!) than 5 a.m. when someone set off fireworks that sounded like cannons. This was followed by the band marching past my house on toward the central park. Groan.... I had slept through most of the downpour and heard very little of the music from the fairgrounds. No going back to sleep now.

This fellow is selling all  he can carry.
I love the bright colors in the serape.

The schedule for today includes going to help again with the float, probably about 3 p.m. And I am definitely going to go up and hear the music for awhile tonight.

An acquaintance, Patty, someone I met while taking art lessons from Shayo, has a wonderfully calm and very large yellow Labrador called Lucas. On most days, it is likely you will see Patty, her mother and Lucas there. It is one of his favorite outings to be allowed off leash to wander around the city's central park smelling all the 'messages' left by friends - the somewhat mangy black and tan mix, the tiny tawny terrier, and the aggressive Chihuahua-Pinscher mix to name a few - and then, after checking almost all of the trees, he comes and collapses underneath the bench where Patty is sitting. I think Lucas is smiling most of the time; it certainly seems so in this photo. Whatever the stories are, he doesn't seem to find anything upsetting.

Lucas - front and center

Lucas - tucked  under the bench

Looks good enough to eat, don't you think?

Today I tried to find the animal exhibition hall, but the only animals there were the Chino Santanderiano vacas, which you can see here. The baby is really cute, but his 'aunties' didn't seem to like him much and he was getting head-butted by everyone. The owner said the meat from these cows is really delicious and when I asked him how I could buy some, he misunderstood and was ready to sell me the whole cow. I said I lived in an apartment and I wanted the cow in pieces... he looked shocked at first, and then realized what I was asking. He said there is a place in VillaNueva - the next village over - where he sells the meat. Apparently I have to call him first and then he lets me know when a cow has been butchered and I then have to hightail it over to VillaNueva to buy it, before everyone else does. Sounds like a lot of work for me right now.

About 100 children with parents, older siblings or grandparents (or all of
them!) arrived at the Parque Cemetario to do some painting. (Note to E:
Two of the four girls sitting at the first table are the twins who said hi!)

After the cow exchange I went over to the Parque Cemetario to watch about 100 kids painting - and competing for prizes - until someone started playing reggae music which caused most of the kids to quite painting and start dancing. I wonder which of the 100 will take their art skills on to make it their business thinking that a bucket of candy is a great reward for one's creativity.

This is "Ventana" (2010) taken from my view in La Loma.

It didn't take me long to realize that I had forgotten to go to the art exhibition in the Casa di Cultura so I headed there next. It is a display of art by local artists, of which I am happily considered to be one. And there in a corner was my canvas "Ventana" (window) hanging for all to see along with some of my classmates' work. This makes exhibition #2 for this painting - and me - so I feel as if I can truly say, when asked, "What do you do?" that "I am a painter, an artist."

Kids were asked to wear hats and were given the horse and
the 'ruana' (shawl). A nice memory for some to have.

Since I had missed the Cabelgata with the grown-ups, I determined that I wasn't going to miss the one for the children. About 1:45 p.m. the kids and their parents began lining up and it looked to me like several stables of horses were going to be required, and even at that, it was going to take hours for each child to have his or her walk on the pony. Who else, besides me, was disappointed when they began  handing out nicely made horse's heads on sticks? I wanted the real thing... and from conversations I overheard, there were several youngster who agreed with me.

Pedro (#21) looks like he's frustrated at this point. It was
getting dark, and the concept was not coming together.

I headed home for a cup of tea after that huge let-down... still have to do the float and gear myself up for a night of music. From where I am sitting right now - about 3:30 p.m. - I can hear the highly magnified music from the fairgrounds, as well as someone's car radio at max volume, a smaller band in the city park, and a Andean flute wafting its notes like a ribbon through clouds, making such a wierd jumble of 'music' that I want to turn it all oFF!

The daughter of one of the adults
 working on the float got right in the
 middle of it and helped a lot!

Got the call to come and help with the float and at first I wondered how much good I could do, but I went along and did a few things. Then the Organizer decided to change things and everything I had done was really wasted, except the learning experience.

One of the things I learned is that these women here in Barichara know how to make something out of nothing and make it look lovely! Wait until you see the float tomorrow!

So I came home and made myself some dinner and ended up walking back into town with a neighbor to listen to the ‘Serenade’ concert. Colombians and the Spaniards have long traditions of serenading - for love, for disappointment, for fun. And tonight’s concert was very special with a variety of guitarists, including Tiple, performing for the 14 candidates on balconies all around the city park.

As I sat on a curb I could smell the sweet night air, perfumed with the night flowers, mixed with the freshness of a village washed clean from the rain the night before. And I appreciated this rare event, where people gathered and listened to the music, wandered around with dogs and children and all combinations of family. I told my neighbor that this probably could not ever happen in the U.S. because of the culture, because of the lack of a village like this where the park is central to everything, and because of course, it isn’t Barichara.

e

Serenading some of the Queen candidates at Feria XXXV in Barichara.

(NOTE: I wanted to post this last night, but because everyone was  using their cellphones, there was no bandwidth for my modem to operate... sorry for the delay.)

Fotos of Feria XXXV - Day One

It's a sunny and bright day here in the Andes.

As expected, the firecrackers started going off before 5 a.m. and the world started waking up. But I was surprised to see so few people around this morning. And I misread the program so the Cabelgata STARTED at 10 a.m., but not here; it was at some place not too far away (by horse) called El Chorro and they will be arriving here about lunchtime... gotta run. Be back with photos I hope.

Not sure where he was headed. But
he was the only rider I saw this
morning.

Doctora in the yellow, I have my head down to make leaves,
and Norma made the most of anyone. We will be ready.

UPDATE: I have photos of the band competition, but the horses and their riders arrived long after the expected time, while I was working with the Casa de Cultura float team, making leaves to put on a tree with dead leaves already on it. It was a bit challenging, but we made some good progress. When I asked how a giant watering can, a large branch with dead leaves and six wire baskets with false flowers in them were going to be assembled, I was told to stop asking questions and just make more leaves. I can tell you I have gotten very good at taking two shades of green crepe paper and wire and making them look like leaves now.

Pedro Gomez-Montanez, 6,  (wearing
the helmet)was the winner in his division
in the Barichara youth biking races.

The Giant Watering Pot

I don't think the scheduling of events this year has gone as well as last year. They have changed the timing for the candidates from 7 to 6 p.m. and I have only just gotten home from spending three hours on the float, so I don't think I will make it to that part.

Also, it turns out that one of my acquaintances here, who lives right across the street from the night-time hot spot, The Mirador, is desperate for a good night's sleep. She is willing to put up with two cats and have a sleeping bag on an inflatable mat if it will give her some distance from the booming music that practically shakes the dirt out of the rafters.

So I think my night may be an early one, meaning I won't make it up to the fairgrounds to see the dancing tonight. Shucks.

The 13 candidates being trucked past the Parque today.

It sounds like a Karioke event from the several blocks away where I am. Whoever is singing is doing it off-key although the background music appears to be OK. Perhaps they have turned a simple walk down the aisle to a talent show, where 14 teen-aged Colombian rural girls have their go at the limelight.

I know this is an important night for some of these young women, and some will go on from here to other opportunities to take advantage of their loveliness. Others will, just as in talent and beauty contests in other countries, feel they were disregarded or worse. I personally think contests about ‘looks’ are sending a very wrong message to young people. That’s what I’ve always thought, so being a grandmother hasn’t changed that opinion.

One of the bands going past the judge's viewpoint.

I can stand loud music if it is on-key, on beat... but listening to this is torturesome.

The main park is to the left, the judges are on the second floor of the
building to the right. You can see a bus waiting to take people to San Gil
just beyond the band group. Not much stops the busses.

The lluvia (pronounced Yoo-bee-ah) started just as the presentation ended and I was walking past the park with my friend, who may not have many issues with the music if it’s raining after all. Although they have rigged up a huge cover for the orchestra/bands and a dance floor, the rain will dampen the sound’s movement through the night air. If anything keeps us awake, it is quite likely to be the thunder which is really loud right now.

Everything smells earthy tonight. I saw a fellow who was on the trip in May to Chinquinqira in the park tonight. He says he wants to learn English but he never takes the step to call me to set up a time to sit and talk in the park as a beginning. Perhaps his girlfriend doesn’t want him to learn... this is an interesting dynamic with Colombians - if one half of the partnership wants to learn English and the other is against it (for whatever reason) the one who wants that opportunity decides to forget about it. My son saw the same thing in the group he was teaching last year even though the group was older. He said that half the class dropped out once their spouses learned they were taking the class.

It is no surprise that the advertisements for learning English on local TV are directed at the 30-somethings who are single.

The Andes were getting rain this afternoon and it arrived later tonight in
the village. I love these colors, but it is unstable earth, even if there are
rocks in it. That is why trees are so critical in Colombia.

Countdown to the Feria (Fair) XXXV !

In 48 hours, starting at 5 a.m. (before the flipping sun has even come up, for heaven's sake!) the Feria begins, and today there were people all over the village posting the schedules on doors, just in case you were not one of the impatient ones and got your schedule a week ago when the printer dropped them off.... like me. And by the way, Feria starts every day this way... and ends sometime after 1 a.m.

I love this view of the village, taken from La Loma about 9 a.m.

There is a palpable thrumming of energy throughout the village and since this is also a sort of 'homecoming' period, a lot of guests are beginning to arrive. I met an older woman who lives on my street this morning as I was sweeping it (this is another story I have to tell...) and she introduced me to her sister. This afternoon I met someone's cousin, and tomorrow an entire family will be coming to my house to collect the things they have been buying for the past two weeks. (Not exactly a garage sale, but productive nonetheless.) The trucks bringing beer and soft drinks have been unloading beverages at every little tienda all week long. It would not do to run out of beer! Tomorrow the military will arrive to begin setting up the check points coming into the city and also going into various venues where lots of people will be. They do check for guns and knives.

My art teacher said today when only one child showed up for class (usually there are six or seven), "Everyone is thinking only about the Feria and practicing for the parade and not about learning art." And in the distance I could hear the sounds of bands practicing, a sure sign that Feria is near. What is called the Battle of the Bands in the U.S. is called "Ecuentro de Bandas de Marcha" and it's at 4 p.m. on Friday, the 12th.

But my favorite, and the one I wish I could participate in, is the Cabalgata or horse ride...at 10 a.m. on Friday. I  adore watching all the riders on their high stepping, gleaming-coated Paso Finos and other breeds. I find it less appealing to see the drunks astride some spavined, underfed and mistreated creature they have nearly drug into town for the event. Yes, it's a mix, but that is Feria. Here's a photo from last year's event before the ride got under way.

The undisputed high point of the day for the women is the presentation of the young women who are vying to be Queen of Barichara. They are candidates from all the vedetas (equivalent to 'shires' or regions in this area) and they represent Barichara at various events throughout the state of Santander and sometimes beyond. Two years ago I sewed the dress for the representative from Salitre, the vedeta where Corasoma (the finca I was affiliated with) was located. She did not win, but came in third. This event is at 7 p.m. and is attended by all the girl's families and other relatives and friends, so it is a huge, huge gathering. I enjoy watching the girls make their 'walk' down the aisle, escorted by a young man who is usually part of the group of the military presence here during the festival.

There will be a dance every night up on the fairgrounds, where people can drink and eat and laugh and joke and have four days of carousing with family and friends. The new mayor of Barichara is quite firm about keeping the drinking up there and not all over the city, but we will see how well he manages.

Sabado/Saturday is about expositions and animals and presentations (more fiesta!) of traditional dances and foods, so it will be somewhat subdued after Friday's grand opening with all those intense activities.

Some very creative designs and use of materials last year.

It is on Domingo/Sunday when the Queen candidates are installed on their floats, something that takes several hours, after Mass of course. Floats are lined up all over the village, girls are either sitting or standing on them, braced to wave and throw candy for about two hours as they wend their way through the streets and past the judges. The parade starts at 2 p.m. and the judges' decision is announced at 7:30 p.m. up at the fairgrounds. Then the dancing will begin and those not chosen will wander about with tight groups of friends mingling and giggling until their feet are too sore to take another step and they finally head home.

After all of these days of getting up before 5 a.m., finally reason prevails and nothing happens on Monday until 8 a.m. And the day is scheduled to unfold somewhat sedately with parades of cows, festivals of chickens, gatherings of camposinos and acknowledgement of Guane, the nearest and oldest village in the state (I think) and finally another dance at 8:30 p.m. to close out Feria XXXV, "Ferias and Fiestas Culturales de la solidaridad y el retourno de Barichara" for 2012.

I'm charging up my camera batteries for the Feria, but I'm nearly worn out writing about it!

The first of October? Already?

This entry in last year's parade was a huge hit with the kids!

It will time for the festival and ferias (fair) in just two weeks... and I am moving out of my little casita in mid-November, partly because the owner wants it back and partly because I am heading back to the U.S. to the twins in Seattle.

Yesterday my friend Isabel was working with some local folks to raise money for the Casa de Cultura's float for the festival parade. I have been invited to help the team paint it and assemble the floral parts (done in papier mache) so I will keep you updated on that particular adventure.

One of the views over the garden looking eastward; I'll have morning sun.

I have found a much smaller place to store the stuff I am not selling or shipping back to the U.S. It is unclear how much time I will be spending here for the foreseeable future, but I am not quite ready to close the door entirely on either Barichara or exploring more of Colombia as time allows. This new place is just three rooms and a kitchenette, but it is on property owned by a historian, and he has been gracious enough to tell me I don't have to worry about moving anything again as long as he is living. Leaving it there costs about the same as a storage unit, but it has a lovely view in three directions and will be a quiet retreat when I am back here. (The pipes in the picture are for the owner's new house up in the hills with an even more majestic view, he said. They are in the early stages of construction.)

Sombrita isn't crazy about moving either... but

During the past two years I have lived in three different places, four if you count this next (final?) move. As I dislike intensely moving, I am truly both frustrated and unsettled with the living arrangements here and cannot afford to buy land or even a mud shack to solve that, so I am incredibly grateful to my friends for their help. I will miss the little casita, but frankly coming back this time and knowing I have to move again, it hasn't been all that relaxing.

Although the cats will have to adjust, it won't be  too hard since it is only over one block from where we are right now. And Ultimo was found on the day of the visit to confirm the location and price to be hanging out there anyhow... must be a sign! I will be assured of their contentment knowing that along with a huge garden to explore, there are several bright parakeets in an outdoor cage for their entertainment...

Ultimo already hangs out at the owner's house!

The news about having to leave the house came while I was in the U.S. and I received it with mixed feelings. So I was really ready to just sell everything and consider my adventures over in Colombia, except that my friends urged me not to do that and helped me to find this solution. Thus I'm downsizing and preparing for both the move and to travel again... the photos and news I get about the twins is enticing, but other information is worrisome... hopefully resolving itself before I arrive.

Getting Away - Chiquinquirá - (Part 3)

Not to show me off, but to give some perspective of the scale of the church.

We had to get up early to go from Puente Nacional to Chiquinquirá. That meant no breakfast for me, which made me a little grumpy. Not even a cup of tea to start. Harumph!

Chiquinquirá is to Colombia what Rome is to Italy, but the Catholics will probably get upset with my comparison because Chiquinquirá is hardly akin to the Vatican. Still, it is where the faithful come from all over Colombia - and elsewhere - to seek an audience (and hopefully a miracle for them) with the artifact housed in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary de Chiquinquirá that represents the Virgin de Chiquinquirá, the title of the Virgin Mary, patron saint of Colombia. It has been stated that the first of the Virgin's miracles occurred in this city long ago.

Turning around from where I was standing, looking south.

At 8,435 feet above sea level Chiquinquirá is about two hours north of Bogotá, in the department (state) of Boyacá.As you can see from my ruaná, I am dressing for the chill. Although the sun was out for part of the day, that elevation really requires (at least as far as I'm concerned) several layers. Other hardy folks took the sun to mean warmth and were dressed in less, but I suspect they are more local than I am.

Near here we had a nice breakfast with hot chocolate.

The plaza surrounding the church is enormous. I didn't actually walk all around it, but it is larger than anything I have seen to date in Colombia.

The featured artifact is a canvas painted with natural colors from the soil and vegetable juices showing the Virgin between St. Anthony of Padua and St. Andrew the apostle. This was created by Alonso de Narvaez, a Spanish artist in Tunja at the request of Don Antonio de Santana back in 1586. The present Basilica was started in 1801 and took 120 years to complete, modeled after the great churches Europe with 15 internal chapels representing the 15 houses of the Rosary.

The painting, hard to see in the interior shot (below) of the Basilica, is surrounded by bright yellow satin curtains as part of the huge altar. It is about 30 feet above the altar, making it easy to recognize, if not clearly discern, as one approaches from the back of the church.

Interior shot of the altar in Basilica de Chiquinquirá.

As we arrived, the church was filling up with the Sunday faithful and hopeful. I was a bit awestruck by the numbers of people who were literally on their knees making their way from the back of the church up to the altar, probably about 350 feet on a marble floor. Although it was not a festival day or the memorial day of the Virgin, the church filled up quickly. I wish I could have spoken to someone about the organ. It was magnificent to hear it; it sounded as if it probably had as many pipes as St. Bart's in New York.

The distance from the painting made it hard to get a very clear shot without a tripod.

The reliquary of Our Lady of the Rosary in the Basilica de Chiquinquirá.

We stayed long enough to see the beginning of the mass, but the schedule for getting to the oldest church was tight, and we had to leave before it was over. I really wanted to hear some more of that wonderful music from the organ, so I was dragged from the church being advised the bus was waiting, only to find out we had to wait for the driver, who (it seemed) was appreciating the church, if not the music, as well.

Chiquinquirá is a wonderful place to buy guitars, really good ones for Tiple or other kinds of music, and if I'd had more time I would have enjoyed shopping at more of the tiendas around the plaza. The city is named after the tribe of indigenous peoples who lived here first long ago. They fought with other tribes and were successful - history is, after all, written by the winners.

Getting help to get the van rolling.....

As a side note, it turned out that the bus that was hired was not exactly the best. The only way it could be started was if it was on a downhill slope so it could be jump-started. The first discovery of this essential fact was when the driver was unable to park it on a slope in Puente Nacional and the men of our group, plus a few from the street, were encouraged to give it a push... I tried to tell the women sitting inside they should get out to make it easier for the men, but they simply shrugged their shoulders. In Chiquinquirá we utilized some of the Army youth to push it uphill so it could roll downhill and .... start.

Our next stop would be Ubate and Sutatausa, but because that is a very special place with lots of history and information, I am going to save that for the final part of this journey "Getting Away - Ubate/Sutatausa (Part Four)" and I hope you will come back to read that portion.

A very nice specimen of Equus near Chiquinquirá.

 We returned to  Puente Nacional from Chiquinquirá and Sutatausa, just in time to see over 600 horsemen and women (collectively called ‘cabilleros’) ride around the central park as a culmination to all the feria activities.

With each lap around the park, the group in the lead increased the speed.

At first I was excited to see so many lovely horses in one place - this is the area where the Paso Fino breed is featured, I am told - but then I found myself having a real sense of anxiety with that much horseflesh, knowing the mind of the horse, being triggered by some random event causing chaos of huge proportions.

Young horse and young rider - no judge on style & form.

But it wasn’t the horses that caused a problem. It was a man, either leaning on or being pushed up against a metal railing about 10 feet above the street, who fell to the ground almost at my feet when the railing gave way. 

My immediate reaction was to give aid, but not speaking enough Spanish, I was afraid I would only add to the crisis. Instead I became a human barrier, keeping others not directly related to the man or to the emergency personnel away from him. He was unconscious for at least three minutes and his wife had her hands full trying to keep some drunk from attempting to pull off his shoes – WTF? – and keeping other well-meaning, but obviously inexperienced people from trying to move him in other ways. As he came to, he was able to get up on his own and refused medical aid. But I could see the huge lump developing on his right temple and I sincerely hoped – and intended – that he did go to the hospital because that was a serious fall and he did have a head injury. Unlikely we will know the outcome.

After a long day of many sights and sounds, I was ready to go to bed, but we still had a long drive back to Barichara. And my intentions to have the rain stay away long enough to enjoy certain events was delivered, so I was grateful on many counts for this "Getting Away" weekend.

NEXT: The final installment with the portion of the trip to Ubate/Sutatausa - Please come back!

Getting Away - Puente Nactional (Part 1)

Some members of our group in costume.

Following the 'Route of the Comuneros" our group made it's first stop in Puente Nacional, named for being the “National Bridge” where the first fight between the commoners (Comuneros) and the Spanish crown took place on May 8, 1781. In the state of Santander there were no shots fired and no blood was spilt (unless someone fell down from being drunk that day). So 231 years later, the people of Colombia dressed up in period costumes for both sides – the communeros and the aristocracy – and celebrated the success of that day and all the days that followed to bring them to where the city is today. This feat brought the people of Colombia their independence on  August 7, 1819.

Comunera & Aristocrat

Puente Nacional is also recognized as a great ecotourist stop at approximately 5300 feet in the foothills of the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes with over 680 beds and the ability to feed 2,000 people daily. While the hotel (Hotel Colombia El Dorado) we stayed at was clean and moderately comfortable, I cannot possibly imagine their restaurant being able to keep up with more than 20 people since our food was less than stellar in both timing and quality, a minor hiccup in our trip. Agriculture and growing of livestock seem to be the primary economic activities of the region, but to be honest I didn't have time to talk to anyone about this aspect of the area.

Dancers are rehearsing as we arrive in Puente Nacional.

Promoted across the country as the biggest ‘Feria’ in Colombia, a celebration of the First Comunera Victoria, (Primera Victoria Comunera) there were indeed visitors from Bogota, three hours to the south, and also from Bucaramanga, four hours to the north and plenty of other places as well judging from the license plates on the parked cars. Surely most of the 5,600 local townspeople and a good portion of the over 12,000 rural residents were also crammed into the town square to enjoy the activities. Almost everyone was wearing the Comunero costume of black skirt or pants, white blouse and a sombrero and some added the red necktie.

Meat hanging and other samples awaiting your pleasure.

We arrived on Saturday, May 5, about 9:30 a.m. after getting up at ‘screech o’clock’ to be on the bus by 6 a.m. If we had not stopped for a much-needed breakfast, we could have arrived even earlier in time to hear the Marching Band going through the streets at 4 a.m., attending the Rosary Mass at 5 a.m. and then joined in watching the students of numerous educational institutions parade past to the Lelio Olarte park where the formal ceremony began at 9 a.m. with the singing of the various hymns of Colombia – the national song, the state song and the city song. The park was named for the composer, Lelio Olarte Brown, born December 4, 1882 responsible for creating “Guabina, Guabina” well known throughout Santander, if not the rest of the world.

Technical college theatrical group in park plaza; city offices in background.

The Comuneros call for freedom from the foppish
fellow in the blue coat to the left (photo) threatening
more violent actions which never transpired - then or now.

 However, we did arrive in time to see the impressive theatrical presentation of the Comuneros and the Indigenous tribes facing off due to the conflicts caused by the Spaniard arrival along with the various religious leaders, the aristocracy and the troops wanting to control the lands and the people. The fervor of the Comuneros came across easily in today’s youth as the actors of the past.

Along with this energetic presentation, there were examples of old equipment for sugar cane production, leather making, forging metal, making coffee and brandy, pulling sisal for weaving and samples of various foods along with pottery and numerous other crafts for sale.

The Indigenous tribes wanted their lands back, but they
had to settle for not being under Spanish rule.

We left after lunch for a trip to Velez, which will be the subject of the next entry.

After our return from Velez that night, we all decided to get a snack before the Tiple (guitars with 12 strings playing a particular type of music) concert. While it was a nice concert and some lovely music, the day’s activities had worn me out and I was not alone in my desire to find a place to stretch out. Most of the group retired for the night and I didn’t have much time to read before my eyes were closing, even though the bed was only slightly softer than the floor.

NEXT: Velez – the first place in the world to give women the right to vote!