Lots of Celebrating

    On Thursday, after dinner, Fortunata and I went to the big church on the plaza, which is under construction, to hear an orchestra play.  I had no idea what to expect -  during dinner, Fortunata only invited me to go to the church, and I didn’t ask why.  So, I was pleasantly surprised to see and hear the orchestra.  It was a big orchestra and the church was packed, probably 500 people in the audience.  It was fun to listen to the orchestra and it made me miss my clarinet!
    Friday, there was a parade of kids holding homemade lanterns on long bamboo sticks with candles inside and a marching band.  I enjoyed watching the lanterns, that varied in shapes, sizes, and designs (everything from a tiny Mickey Mouse to a huge ear of corn).  After the parade, Fortunata and I listened to a raffle - unfortunately she did not win anything.
    Saturday, there was a festival in Pisac.  After breakfast, I watched some of the parade, which was going down our street, from Chaska’s upstairs bedroom window.  After a couple marching bands went by, in addition to Fortunata, dressed in a business suit, helping to carry a huge Peruvian flag, Chaska and I headed to the plaza.  The plaza is usually filled with the busy market, but this Saturday the market was moved to the side streets and the plaza was filled with people watching the parade.  We watched the parade for about two hours and then there was a break in the parade and we gathered around the center of the plaza to watch some traditional dances.  Then there was more parading.  Marching bands, Fortunata again, and kids starting at age 2 and going to age 18, dressed in school uniforms marching with high kicks.  After Fortunata paraded past, she ran back to ask Chaska for the keys to the house - she had to run home and change into her traditional clothes so that she could be in the parade again, this time with here artisan group from the market.  This second parade lasted for more than three hours.  It was great being with Chaska during this celebration because she knew exactly where to move before the crowds did, so we always had a good spot to view the parade or dancing from.
    At 2:00, we went out to lunch at a vacant lot turned temporary restaurant for stuffed peppers, boiled potatoes, and some sort of salty, brown mystery meat - I decided I rather not know what kind of meat it was.  After lunch, we bought tickets for the traditional dances that would be happening at a stadium two blocks from my house.  Chaska, Norma, Ronald, and I went and claimed our seats on the bleachers and Norma held our spots for the next hour, while the rest of us went back to the house and hung out and Fortunata and Chaska went to buy Coke and cake to take with us to the dances.  Around 3:30, Judith came over and then we all headed to the stadium.  The dances started at 4 (two hours later than the tickets said they would…classic Peruvian style) and lasted until 9:30.  It was really fun to see all of the intricate costumes and masks, but most of the dances were pretty repetitive, so after two hours it got a little boring.  It felt almost like a baseball game because people showed up with picnics and blankets and there were people selling food in the aisles, but instead of hot dogs there was anticucho (beef heart on a stick).