New Year's Eve, Cuenca, Ecuador

Diane: Today, the rest of the city (and country) burned their Años Viejos to welcome in the New Year (see the previous entry for an explanation of what this means).

Our neighborhood, El Vergel, shows a sense of identity. There have been various block parties since we arrived. So, when I headed out from our apartment, I went around front to see what our neighbors had dreamed up. The entire basketball court was full of larger-than-life figures representing the latest round of soccer matches in which Cuenca emerged as the #1 team in Ecuador. Just one month ago, the Cuenca team became the Ecuadorian soccer champs for the first time in 37 years. There was madness in the streets near our house for a couple of days. I thought it was all behind us, but I had underestimated the importance of soccer to the Cuencan psyche. Untold hours must have gone into this elaborate display.

All of the figures had some sort of meaning, but even with the accompanying signage, I couldn't decipher it. After asking several people to explain the symbolism, I did finally get an explanation. Unfortunately, their Spanish was too fast for me to comprehend most of it. At times like this, all of my Spanish study seems a waste of time.

Out on the street, we saw a "widow" and "her" cohorts stopping traffic by stretching a rope across the street. Each driver that tried to pass was accosted by her poignant pleas. The rope was only lowered after the driver had coughed up a few cents.

We wandered around the various neighborhoods close to Cuenca's historic center. Many cars we passed had Años Viejos tied to their front bumpers or roofs.

Despite Calliope and TM's serenade of complaints concerning which street I was turning down, where I was stopping, and how slow I was walking, we did manage to see lots of colorful, imaginative, witty, political, and well-adorned Años Viejos. I even got everybody to pose with a few of them.






























And keep in mind that for most of these figures, there was a widow and her brood of children out in the streets stopping cars for money. People were talkative and outgoing. A few people offered us drinks. When I stopped to carefully examine a figure or take a picture, there was usually someone nearby with a big smile, appreciating that I appreciated their efforts.

As the night drew on, we passed more and more burned areas in the streets. We happened onto one Año Viejo with the inside of it's head on fire. There were several kids running up to it and then running away as if both drawn to it and scared of it at the same time. Tom realized that they had filled the head with firecrackers and were trying to get them to go off.

The larger neighborhoods had put together elaborate scenes for a citywide contest. The night was still young and these neighborhood scenes wouldn't burn until midnight. Unfortunately, my nasty cold ran my energy down before I could see the grand burn. I listened from my peaceful bed as my El Vergel neighbors cheered the flames.

Update: For the most part, the ashes were gone within a day. And, the grand Año Viejo prepared by our El Vergel neighbors won 1st place in the citywide competition!