La Guelaguetza, Zaachila part 2
La Guelaguetza begins
The program was supposed to start at 2. Of course that didn't happen, but no one seemed to mind. The whole scene was merry and fun.
It began about 3. First, someone started setting off a bunch of firecrackers, then there was a long introduction, then the queen of La Guelaguetza and her court promenaded on stage, then finally the dancers came out.
Each of the 7 regions of Oaxaca was represented. Each has its own costume, dance, and typical products.
The first group of women who came out had floral arrangements on their heads that looked kind of like mini Rose Floats, in the shape of harps or crosses.
Others, the chinitas, had multicolored satin ribbons streaming from their costumes, very beautiful. Some songs seemed to be kind of ribald, because the audience would howl with laughter at the lyrics. They were all inside jokes that us gringos didn't understand.
After the dancers perform, they toss items from their region to the audience. Some regions throw bags of coffee beans or squash seeds, woven palm hats or fans, or oranges. But one region is known for its pineapples, so they tossed pineapples out - whole, spiky pineapples. Crazy! Heads up!
The whole thing was unlike anything I have ever experienced.
For one, in the US there is no way they would let thousands of people trample all over an archeological site. People would file lawsuits to prevent it.
And there was only one entrance, about 8 feet wide, with two ways to get to it - up a set of steep rocky stairs, or by climbing a wooden ramp propped up on some boards, set at about a 30 degree angle. The fire department in the U.S. would have shut it down. If not them, the health department.
But it was all part of the fun. And everyone seemed to be able to get in ok - tiny old grandmas propped up between people, little kids, it was all ok.
It was too crowded for us to get to the bathrooms on the site. We waited until we left and went to a dirt parking lot across the street. We paid 2 pesos each to use a hole topped by a toilet seat, surrounded by corrugated metal with a roof about 5 feet high ("No sitting, no standing," I yelled out the door to my fellow students, laughing) and a piece of black plastic for a door.
At times I was tempted to freak out at the intensity of the crowd, the fact that I was trapped there for about 5 hours in the heat and sitting on the ground, and the insanely loud and discordant music...but it was the experience of a lifetime. It was so real and honest and unmanufactured. I am glad I hung in.
When we left and were standing in line for the bathroom (hole), one girl from our group just lost it. She was cooked by the sun and mad as hell that the school hadn't really informed us about what was happening that day.
So she started cursing and practically spitting and it made me laugh my head off.
I feel like we students generally try to be good visitors and prop up our hosts' self-image. We tell them how beautiful it is here, how friendly the people are, how good the weather is, how great the food is - which are all true.
But we spare telling them what a mess a lot of things are or how much better we have it (endless hot water! sewers that don't smell up the city! traffic lights that you can see from both directions! smooth roads! honest cops!) in the U.S. so many ways.
So it was funny to hear someone be totally honest for a few minutes.
The land of no waste - flattened stock for metal cans is made into a door in Zaachila
The program was supposed to start at 2. Of course that didn't happen, but no one seemed to mind. The whole scene was merry and fun.
It began about 3. First, someone started setting off a bunch of firecrackers, then there was a long introduction, then the queen of La Guelaguetza and her court promenaded on stage, then finally the dancers came out.
Each of the 7 regions of Oaxaca was represented. Each has its own costume, dance, and typical products.
The first group of women who came out had floral arrangements on their heads that looked kind of like mini Rose Floats, in the shape of harps or crosses.
Others, the chinitas, had multicolored satin ribbons streaming from their costumes, very beautiful. Some songs seemed to be kind of ribald, because the audience would howl with laughter at the lyrics. They were all inside jokes that us gringos didn't understand.
After the dancers perform, they toss items from their region to the audience. Some regions throw bags of coffee beans or squash seeds, woven palm hats or fans, or oranges. But one region is known for its pineapples, so they tossed pineapples out - whole, spiky pineapples. Crazy! Heads up!
The whole thing was unlike anything I have ever experienced.
For one, in the US there is no way they would let thousands of people trample all over an archeological site. People would file lawsuits to prevent it.
And there was only one entrance, about 8 feet wide, with two ways to get to it - up a set of steep rocky stairs, or by climbing a wooden ramp propped up on some boards, set at about a 30 degree angle. The fire department in the U.S. would have shut it down. If not them, the health department.
But it was all part of the fun. And everyone seemed to be able to get in ok - tiny old grandmas propped up between people, little kids, it was all ok.
It was too crowded for us to get to the bathrooms on the site. We waited until we left and went to a dirt parking lot across the street. We paid 2 pesos each to use a hole topped by a toilet seat, surrounded by corrugated metal with a roof about 5 feet high ("No sitting, no standing," I yelled out the door to my fellow students, laughing) and a piece of black plastic for a door.
At times I was tempted to freak out at the intensity of the crowd, the fact that I was trapped there for about 5 hours in the heat and sitting on the ground, and the insanely loud and discordant music...but it was the experience of a lifetime. It was so real and honest and unmanufactured. I am glad I hung in.
When we left and were standing in line for the bathroom (hole), one girl from our group just lost it. She was cooked by the sun and mad as hell that the school hadn't really informed us about what was happening that day.
So she started cursing and practically spitting and it made me laugh my head off.
I feel like we students generally try to be good visitors and prop up our hosts' self-image. We tell them how beautiful it is here, how friendly the people are, how good the weather is, how great the food is - which are all true.
But we spare telling them what a mess a lot of things are or how much better we have it (endless hot water! sewers that don't smell up the city! traffic lights that you can see from both directions! smooth roads! honest cops!) in the U.S. so many ways.
So it was funny to hear someone be totally honest for a few minutes.
The land of no waste - flattened stock for metal cans is made into a door in Zaachila
posted by Suebob at 4:34 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home