El Pase del Niño

As I write this on Christmas morning, Cuenca is at the start of a long day of rest.  Christmas Eve is the big day here, all centered around the biggest local fiesta of the year, El Pase del Niño (translated loosely by me as "The Voyage of Baby Jesus").   It involves bringing a small statue of Baby Jesus from one place to another, less than a mile away, but that's an infant-sized understatement.  What it really is is the longest parade I've witnessed, or even heard of - about nine hours of non-stop parading!

Things kick off around 8am with an unending spectacle of bands, dancers, floats, and marchers, with a particular emphasis on showing off traditional costumes, both from the area, and from all over Ecuador. Lots of people also dressed like biblical characters.  There is a tradition of giving away food and drink.  In earlier times, people used to carry huge feasts through the parade and then host open communal meals at the end.  Yesterday, we saw a lot of people giving away fancy bread and rolls (a big thing here in Cuenca), candy and other things.  Many of the floats are decorated with fresh fruit, bread and other treats.  My favorite are the "chanchos" or entire roast pigs that get paraded around, in addition to the occasional duck and guinea pig.  I was sorry to have only seen a few of these pass while I was watching.  In addition, there were a few big trucks sponsored by local VIPs who have been chosen as "padrinos" (godparents) of the parade, giving away snacks and "chicha", a fermented corn beverage, all day long.

Our day went like this:  School at 8:30, as usual; then viewing the parade with our teachers for a couple of hours; home for a break; then to an afternoon party, a gathering of local resident gringos (worth another post) at an amazing apartment overlooking Parque Calderon, the terminus of the parade; then home for another break; then more parade viewing; then a walk and some coffee after the whole thing finally wound down around 4pm.

At that point, most Cuencanos head to family gatherings, to eat, exchange presents and and possibly go to church, until 2am or so.  But we were pretty spent, so went home and had some take-out roast chicken and called it a day.

Here are just a few photos from the very long parade:

At the start of the day.  We later went to a party on the top floor of the tall building on the right.

Chancho on a stick!

O&R with their teachers, Alejandra and Patricia

This calf couldn't take the hours of marching and opted out.

Chicha break - just the thing for a mid-morning pick-me-up

With the first female candidate for Mayor in Cuenca's history!

At the party overlooking the Parque

More Chancho!