El mojazón y las barras
02.23.2004Today Tarija is a city-wide party. I won't have any pictures, however, since it's also a city-wide water fight (don't want to ruin my trusty sidekick). BTW, barra isn't a band, but rather the event itself (a stage w/ musicians, etc.) — the Barra de Gattopardo's the barra sponsored by Gattopardo Restaurant on the main plaza; there are other (smaller) barras throughout the city.
I headed down to the Plaza de Armas, where the main event takes places. The Barra de Gattopardo was already going, playing mostly cumbias to set the rythm for the water fight slowly gaining steam. Old men roamed around w/ buckets, splashing anyone they could find. Young boys w/ bags of water balloons roamed the sidewalks. Little girls in rain ponchos shot giant water guns at people, before running away giggling. Some used cans of foam, spraying anyone & anything.
And it was city-wide. Throught the city, folks cautiously roamed about, on the lookout for the inevitable drive-by mojada. Ambushes & counter-ambushes were the norm. Everyone was drenched, covered in foam, and taking breaks from the action to drink beer or dance in the street. Even so, it wasn't a break. Water balloons sailed into pubs, into the dancing crowds, along w/ the never ending foam sprays.
Merchants sold water balloons (one for Bs. 0.10) or cans of foam. After a few people splashed me, I figured everone was fair game. And so I attacked, defended, counter-attacked, and laughed in the midday sun.
The crowd came alive when the music switched to a rueda chapaca (a "wheel" dance where you link hands, very gypsy-like). In a moment, someone had taken my hand; off I went on a dance through the street of the friendliest town I've ever seen. After a few chacareras (a foot-stomping dance, usually done in high riding boots), the music switched back to cumbia & samba.
Eventually, I took a break to run back to my hostel, take a hot shower, and put on warmer clothes. The sun's setting, but the party's just getting started. Less water balloons & foam now, but the plaza is packed w/ at least 2,000 people dancing. They'll dance like this all through the night. They've been dancing like this every night for over a week. They'll be dancing like this all through Wednesday.
Posted by Miguel at 06:46 PM
Comments
Water fight and wheel dancing... the sort of festival I'd like to be attend!
Glad you're having fun.
Posted by: Steph at February 24, 2004 08:08 PM