Challenges...

As I was preparing to leave for my return to Colombia, I had a nagging feeling of unrest. I thought perhaps it was because I was not looking forward to a long flight, airports, bus rides, etc. required to get to what I consider is ¨my¨ colonial village of Barichara.

I cannot post any photos because I didn´t bring my computer with me and it´s pretty hard for me to download to the local internet cafe machines and then upload here, so I will post them later.

But the unrest premonition has come to pass... there is a national strike of coffee farmers, teachers, and transport workers which has closed at least 42 major roads across the country. There are demonstrations and ugly confrontations occurring as well, making travel in this country a far greater adventure than I wish to experience.

When I get back to the US I will write a more detailed explanation of what is going on, but in the meantime, if you go to ColombiaReports.com you can probably find out what is happening. There are no newspapers being delivered to Barichara and I don´t have TV where I am staying.

My bus trip from San Gil to Bogota was essentially cancelled requiring me to find an alternate route. More on that later as well. Many people are virtually being held hostage in their cities and villages so I hope that President Santos will start to talk to the people who are involved. I am intending good and equitable solutions for all concerned, for the highest and best good of all concerned, so be it and so it is....

A Sweet Little Casita in Colombia

I remember the first time I saw this little casita in Barichara, and I thought then it would be a lovely place to live. Unfortunately, it was not for sale then and I cannot afford it now, although it is much more reasonable than many houses for sale in the city.

If you go to this link you can see all the photos for yourself. $190,000 millions works out to about $105,000 USD today which is pretty affordable if you are working and can afford a second home. There are flights from Orlando, FL, every day to Bogota now and I've just heard that Delta is going to start offering service as well. If you read back on my blog, you will discover how lovely Barichara is for a place to retreat to from your busy life, and this would be a delicious place to call home there.

Casa Itaca - a view of the Cathedral - for Sale!

Estas son las fotos de Casa Itaca. La casa tiene 199mts 100 mts construidos. Tapia pisada. Madera de los techos en cucharo.

Desde la puerta principal se ve la Catedral tiene  una terraza con vista a todo Barichara Los papeles en regla. (Translation: These are the photos of House Ithaca. The house is 100 meters construidos. Tapia 199 mts tread. Wooden beams throughout, especially nice in the kitchen.

From the front door you can see the Cathedral. It has a terrace overlooking Barichara; all the papers are in order.)

The garden is small, but can be seen from the kitchen and one of the bedrooms. It is very clean and ready to move into. I know the owner has taken very good care of it, and it has been well-maintained.

Please, if you decide to contact the seller, let them know you saw it here. I probably won't realize anything from my promotion of it, but I would be interested to know if someone finding it here decided to buy it. You can contact Shayo here: shayo92@hotmail.com for more information.

He asked me to marry him...

Carlos Martinez was a sweet man, not just because he asked me to marry him at a time I needed either a laugh or a feeling of being wanted, but because he truly did care about others, and I appreciated that about him.

Carlos Martinez, a Colombian friend.

He is the father of Gabriela and Claudia and step-father to Martha and Louisa, but he was the patriarch of all. I met him at Corasoma, the finca in Barichara, Santander when I first arrived there several years ago. I had heard about him before I actually met him, because he was at that time living in San Gil, almost an hour away.

But with declining health he built a small house and moved up to Corasoma where he lived with his daughters and granddaughters for almost two years. During that time he was without a car, and when I was in Colombia I had one, so he would join me on my trips to San Gil and we would go to lunch in some obscure place which never failed to be a terrific meal. Then he would ask to stop at his favorite 'vivero' (garden store) where he would buy plants or trees for Corasoma.

Carlos appreciated good food and knew where to find it!

I was grateful that Carlos allowed me to stumble along in my Spanish, but he spoke English very well and also enjoyed our conversations in that language so he could keep up his skills. On our jaunts I learned the names of plants, got history lessons, met many of his friends and the people who had the best fruits and vegetables in San Gil. He helped me to appreciate Colombia more.

After I turned him down for marriage, he would refer to me as his 'fiance' when people asked who I was... our private joke. But the last time I was at the market and saw the grocers, they asked about him... "Su novio, como esta?" I didn't have the heart to try and explain in Spanish that he wasn't my boyfriend, because I did rank him as a dear friend and knowing he was critically ill, it seemed complicated to 'break up with him' in their minds at this point. Instead I took a photo of them standing all together waving and wishing him well and sent it on to his daughter to share with him.

I didn't really know Carlos for very long or really very well in the long scheme of his life of 80+ years, but I wanted to acknowledge him today as he has taken that long walk through the Green Door leaving behind a legacy of caring, and to acknowledge he touched my heart while he was here.

Sunset at Corasoma: rest in peace dear friend and I thank you for being.

Baby Jesus was stolen from the parish!

De: PEDRO GONZALEZ QUINTANILLA <patiamarillo@hotmail.com>
Fecha: 20 de enero de 2013 18:33:49 GMT-06:00
Para: <juarpaz@hotmail.com>
Asunto: NIÑO PERDIDO
EL NIÑO DIOS DE LA PARROQUIA DE BARICHARA FUE HURTADO DEL PESEBRE POR FAVOR MIRE BIEN LA IMAGEN Y DENUNCIE AL AUTOR

UNASE A LA CAMPAÑA EN INTERNET, RADIO Y TELEVISIÓN: SE BUSCA...

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
 A PARISH CRIB was stolen CONTAINING BABY JESUS from BARICHARA.
 PLEASE LOOK AT THIS IMAGE AND REPORT IT TO THE AUTHOR IF IT SHOWS UP.
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN IN INTERNET, RADIO AND TELEVISION: WANTED ...

Note from me -- I don't know more than what is here, but because it may be an antique and be showing up someplace outside of Colombia, I hope if it is seen, it will be returned.

Reflecting on the start of 2013

Cathedral de Barichara at night New Year's Eve 2013

It has been an interesting start to 2013, surrounded by hundreds of people and yet quite definitely very alone, but not lonely. Christmas and New Year's holiday in Barichara, Santander, Colombia, S.A. is usually pretty busy anyhow, but this year must have set some records. All the hotels were occupied, the streets were crowded with cars, and every day it was a challenge to navigate the sidewalks and streets with all the traffic and people.

Riding a motorcycle was really hazardous because the visitors were unaccustomed to the narrow streets and seldom looked before opening their doors to see if anyone was passing. I gave up riding altogether because I did not want to either be the cause or effect of this crowding.

Old Year is burned while rockets are launched.

There was another demonstration of this concentration of visitors in what is really quite a small area. After the fireworks on New Year's eve, apparently there was a confrontation between local young men and young men whose parents have vacation homes here. I don't know the details, so I won't say more than the issue of alcohol was clearly a contributing factor in the clash and that I sense the 'town and gown' problem is not going to go away as more and more families choose to have Barichara as their vacation get-away spot.

The over 30-minute firework display was impressive and very loud as rockets and display fireworks were set off near the Cathedral. The burning of the Old Year (in effigy) must have been watched by over 2,000 people around the square, young and old.

In previous years I have enjoyed the display from La Loma, but for various reasons that was not where I ended up. And after days of early morning explosions, late night booms and blasts, it was my fervent hope that this culmination of light and noise would bring some peace and quiet back to this Andean village.

An explosion of fireworks over the parque in Barichara.

Sadly on the same night as the fireworks, there was a fire in the Eco-forest which did a lot of damage. (The Eco-forest is a three-year old project to teach the youngsters about saving native trees and plants.) It  was not known for certain what the cause was, (at least not as of today) but with the lack of rain, the trees and bushes are tinder dry. So it was no surprise at the level of involvement and scary to think how a fire could have a devastating effect on this area if it got started and it was not controlled quickly. Since there are no local 'bomberos' (firefighters), it could definitely be a problem.

It still disturbs me that visitors think it is appropriate to damage our walls with their graffiti. I wish there was some kind of fine for this.

I am sure a lot of people really enjoyed their visit here (and were respectful of this national heritage), and the merchants most certainly benefitted from a vacation period where people were buying things, going to the restaurants and markets, using the taxis, enjoying the recreational resources and musicians were in great demand for all the nightly dances. This definitely was a happening place for the past three weeks, but it is also clear that many of the locals are burned out with the pressure to provide services, often from very early in the day until quite late at night.

Why bring this up? Because it means that the popularity of Barichara may be its undoing unless the mayor and other civic leaders address the challenges of growth. In the past year I can see lots of new houses being constructed and while this does bring employment to many, it also creates enormous dissatisfaction among those who were promised a chance to have a small casa in the proposed barrio to the south, but after two years the development seems to have stalled.

No one wants this colonial village to maintain its quaintness and specialness more than I do. And a couple of ideas I have I think will help to do that. Here they are:

1) During holiday weekends and special events like Feria, eliminate parking in the central park area  and provide small bussettas to transport people from the designated parking areas into the central part of town.
2) Establish a fine for defacing any building or walls anywhere in the village and post notices which warn people of the consequences if they are caught. Enforce those fines and after a few serious enforcements including posting a notice of the names of people who were fined in a public place, it may have the desired effect of causing people to at least think twice before gouging their messages into the walls.
3) Limit use of fireworks to specific days and times so that people can be sure of having good sleep.
4) Make the public toilets available, post information about where they are and keep them maintained.
5) Put out more trash containers and post requests for people to use them; if possible have recyclable and paper trash division.

Central parque of Barichara during Navidad 2012.

I have passed this information on to the local leadership and I hope some of these ideas will be implemented. I know progress is inevitable, I just hope it will be managed.

For me, no resolutions this year - just continuing to offer intentional support where it is needed.

Obama win is good for Colombia

Approaching Barichara, you can see one of the cordillas of the Andes stretching out ahead under the clouds.

I am not taking sides when I say that Obama's win is good for Colombia, but the last four years of working to strengthen the ties between the two countries will benefit from a continuation of the existing policy. While I do not want Colombia to become 'Americanized' in any way, inevitably that is going to occur with people all over the country watching the TODAY show, learning English, and having more tourists coming from the U.S.

Clearly my blog has been read by a huge number of Americans, possibly those looking for a nice retirement option. And Colombia is supportive of retirees (although you have to prove you can support yourself to get a visa) and welcomes Americans as visitors. Santos has been working hard to bring the FARC to the peace table and since Obama supports this, there are plenty of hopeful signs that an end to the conflict could occur. This would only benefit Colombia as a tourist destination country because it has so very much to offer.

Cathedral in Barichara - early morning shot

Although the U.S. State Department does issue travel advisories about Colombia, anyone visiting here and taking reasonable precautions for their personal safety should not be any more concerned about touring here than touring in the U.S. Don't bother wearing your expensive jewelry in any of the large cities. (If you are going someplace where you want to show it off, carry it in a pocket or something until you reach the inside of your destination, then you can put it on and remove it when leaving. That's what Bogotonians do.) Probably that's good advice in the U.S these days as well.

Anyhow, all you folks reading this, come on over and see Colombia for yourselves... the El Dorado airport in Bogota is being upgraded, you don't need a visa for a two-month visit, and it's well worth the trip!
NOTE: One village in northern Colombia is totally pro-Obama... read this!

Post-Move photos

Entrance to the Retreat also known as Caney
Communeros in Barichara, Santander, Colombia

I'm a little too tired to write much... the guys were great - on time, funny, and worked very hard. I just want to go on the record and say that if anyone in America has a chance to hire a Colombian, you will get your money's worth. They are such hard workers and most of the Colombians have such a great attitude about getting the task done well and fast, it is a pleasure to work with them. The only caveat is that there is a certain laid-back perspective to the culture wherein, "It will get done when I get there..." holds sway.

Second story apartment with 180-
degree views of Barichara countryside.

Example: I made an appointment to have my DirecTV dish antenna moved from one place to the other. I made the date a couple of days in advance of when I needed it, because I'd had one experience with that business already. The day came and went and no one showed up - or called. I called the next day and it was re-scheduled for Monday morning. Nope - no one came. I called right away. "He'll be there after 2 p.m." He wasn't. I called again. "He'll be there by 5 for sure." Guess what? We called the office at 5:30 and were told, "He's on his way." The sun sets here just about this time... was he going to do all this in the dark? Yep. And once he arrived, he worked doggedly and carefully to make sure everything was done correctly. By flashlight. Thankfully it wasn't raining. I was impressed.

Once I retrieved the cats from the other place, I secured the apart ment as best I could so they could explore and stay here, have a couple of meals and know it was home. Somehow they found a way out and went exploring last night, waking me up at 5 a.m. to open the door because however they got down, they couldn't get back up.

Small galley kitchen reminds me of my liveaboard life.

Then they had breakfast, laid around for awhile and around 9:30 a.m. I realized Sombra had gone. Ultimo was here all day watching the peacocks, the dog, the ducks, the chickens like a cat's idea of a great movie from the second story... tree house! Then just as it was getting dark, Sombra showed up again... she was freaked out, but at least she knows this is home... she ate and then she left again. This behavior repeated itself again today... and when she's here, she's almost panicky - not her usual purring and affectionate self.

I am hoping that in a few days she will start to be more like Ultimo, just hanging around and enjoying all the birdie entertainment. If anyone has any cat psychology ideas to share, please do!

Ultimo is relaxing and watching the various birds... now.

Today I watched Ultimo attempt to bring down a peacock... he sort of swatted at it, and in a few minutes he had the peacock's mate, a rooster, two ducks and some curious hens all beginning to crowd around him. He suddenly realized he was outnumbered by birds that are almost as big as he is... he took the smart route and headed back to the apartment. I was sitting at the top of the stairs and started laughing - poor cat, suffering such humiliation.

Anyhow, the move is done... and since I'm going to be away for a bit, I'm leaving some things in boxes until I return. It turns out the number on my apartment/retreat is "7" - if you are into numerology, you probably already know where this is going, but if not, click here, and read why I like living 'under' this number... I started the resting part today!

Me voy a mudar = I am moving = chaos

The nice thing about LaLoma was the proliferation of birds....

By the time you read this, I hope the move will be done and all will be settled without incident. My new landlord, a retired history professor, has done a lot to make my new little space more appealing, and if I have to move again into anything smaller, it will probably be a coffin! My friends here don't like my sense of humor about that, but seriously, folks, in two years....

The nice thing about the center of town location was being
able to hear the church bells every time they rang...
which is about every hour in this village. It was like being
IN the bell tower.... very energizing.

Move # 1 - one year in a three-bedroom house out in the country (LaLoma) - it doesn't matter that I could only use two of the three bedrooms because of the serious mold issue in #3, or that the swimming pool was a breeding ground for mosquitoes, or that the brother-in-law refused to share the costs of the electricity and water even though he was living there in a small cottage with his dog (and sometimes a girlfriend).

What I will miss most about the small casita is the many
surprises of animals that have been tied to a variety of
things - lampposts, cartons, bicycles, motos, etc. while
their owners have a 'quick one' at the bar on the corner.

Move # 2 - supposed to be one year in the oldest (or nearly oldest) house in Barichara right on the park, central to everything. Huge space, but only two tiny bedrooms with 18-ft ceilings and peculiar bathrooms. But clearly the landlady was unwilling to address the serious roof problems and after four months of damaging leaks, I gave notice and found something else right away. Must have been a move during a Mercury Retrograde because...

Sombrita (little shadow) is in and out of all the boxes.

Ultimo is a real cool cat; nothing gets him worked up.

Move # 3 - was also supposed to be for a year, to a cute (smaller) three-bedroom 'cottage' really, but adorable... and I loved being there/here, but while I was away helping with the arrival of the twins, the landlady was telling everyone in Barichara she was hoping I would find something else so she could have her house back. I will miss the grape arbor... made my first batch of grape jam here.

Legally she could have been obligated to me for two months rent, but since I was persuaded that my 'last move' was a good financial deal, I got her to end the contract with no cost to her and I am now - on Wednesday morning/Halloween day - onto

Move # 4 - into two bedrooms (one of which is normal size), two tiny bathrooms, a kitchenette and an open space for dining and sitting around looking at the 180-degree view, up a narrow flight of stairs... should be interesting tomorrow. I have no idea how the cats are going to take all of this... because now we are re-introducing a - dawg. Stay tuned.

Sombrita gets into the middle of all the packing materials, naps there,
and any sound right now sends her scampering... very hyper!!!

What I Saw This Morning

The fog/low clouds this morning made it necessary for
this vulture to take time out to dry its wings.

I am so lucky to be able to wake up and see clearly.... when I was little, I would wake up to a hazy world and I thought that was what everyone saw. Then when I went to first grade I got my first set of glasses and realized there was a whole lot I'd been missing... no wonder everyone thought I was a 'cotton-head,' a 'lay-about,' a dithering ditzy little girl. I could not imagine how the world moved so quickly in such a fog.

Closer view of the vulture drying out its wings.

As I grew, so did my eyes and the focal point stretched farther and farther away from the back of the eye, making me more and more near-sighted so that by the time I was 16 I was, without correction, legally blind. Fortunately for me, I was able to wear the 'new' contact lenses and that was the first time I saw my feet as they really were - rather large!

During my teens, the contact lens product changed and evolved so that I went from wearing something impermeable to those that were the beginnings of tiny plastic lenses that you could wear all day. But in my 60's, after wearing contacts lenses of all types and varieties for more than 40 years, my eyes were beginning to rebel, and I was not as confident of my driving as I had been. I felt as if something was off.  I went to a wonderful opthamologist, a fellow who was teaching eye surgery at a university in Florida, and he determined that along with the dry eyes of contact wearers, I was also losing vision because of cataracts. Surgery..... scary.... eyesight.... gasp.

Colombian sparrow checking out the gutter for water.

Colombian sparrow shaking off the water from a gutter bath.

I was warned of the risks, but the risks of not doing anything were greater. I am sure Dr. B. likes a challenge, but he also is careful. He let me sit in to watch one of his surgeries, and feeling confident of his skills, I was ready to proceed. So we both forged ahead and at the age of 62 with a couple of months between surgeries, I was given new eyesight that, for the first time, allowed me to see at 20/20 in one eye and 20/30 in the other - without contacts!!! I continue to be amazed as I wake up and SEE the world and now when it is foggy, I know it is because I am up in the Andes clouds, not because I am 6 years old and near-sighted.

How wonderful to have a toy that really moves!

So today I am once again giving thanks for my eyesight, and especially was reminded of this gift when I sat with a blind friend last night. The photo of the motorcycle's license plate may or may not be a sign to anyone else, but I interpreted it this way.

2:4 Corinthians? "My message and my preaching were
not with wise and persuasive words,
but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power."

WHAT I READ THIS MORNING... This is an important posting from Deludia about medical thefts which we have to make sure we work to divert - at all costs! Please take time to click on this link and be aware...Deludia's posting about medical theft

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.