the festival of santa isabel

As part of the ethnomusicology program which studies the different contexts of music in Peru, we were sent to the town of Huaylas during their patron saint festival. To get to Huaylas, we were sent up the coast, and then into the mountains, passing through a lush valley, situated between Cordeilla Negra, and the Cordeilla Blanca moutain ranges. (In the Cordeilla Blanca is the highest mountain in Peru, Huascaran). Since me and Adam came to Peru with the endeavor of filming Andean music, this was perfect for us, and we went after some incredible footage. The implications of course meant that not only did we stick out as the only gringos in town, but as the Gringos in town who were running around everywhere with a camera and a tripod, (initially) completely clueless. My inhibitions slowly wore away as the festival went on, but I will never forget the initial rush out to film the rompecalle.

The Rompecalle is the official kickoff to the festival of Santa Isabel. This is when each barrio (neighborhood-there are about 6 of them) come marching into the square with a hired band and show off their stuff, each trying to show up the next. The bands played for their barrios all weekend, and the entire party was paid for by the Mayordomo (the annually selected guy who shells out about 10,000$ for the band, the alcohol, and any charges that might come along the way). The day continues with bands playing in the square, people dancing, and bands snaking around the valley (with people dancing and partying in front). The bands pretty much lead everything, the musicians lay it down from 9 in the morning until 3 at night for four days straight.

One of the most colorful (literally) parts of the festival were the Pashas. The characters, representing pastors, but also maintaining a dual identity by wearing a mask and talking in a high pitched voice, would go around town whipping and hooting and getting more and more drunk. It was on the second day when these characters made their first appearance as they stood tranquilly in the church during the Mass of one of the Barrios. Later, we were invited to lunch at this Barrio (Shuyo-or to the locals .. shuyo-paPA) and crates of beer and people dancing to the band playing were everywhere. This party continued throughout the day, and then the entire neighborhood marched back into town leading the band. This time however, the Pashas lead the way, whipping the ground, and a man carrying a bull-hide which would be mercilessly whipped. (Later we saw the man who was carrying the bull, and his shoulders and legs had welts on them from the crazy pashas). From this point on, the level of vigilance had to be raised extra high, because it was not uncommon that a pasha would whip and hoot endlessly throughout the day. They also had a great time banding together and whipping the ground right in front of a road leading into the square, completely blocking it off..

We also played one of the most epic soccer games of my life against a bunch of shoe shiner kids. These kids, to whom we were almost a novelty were happy to put their shoe shiner kits away and gather the crew to play the gringos in soccer. We played the teams gringos (me adam and kyle) plus two of their worse players versus the rest, and even though we ended up winning (though they cheated and took points away), the coke that we bought post game never tasted so sweet.

Pictures on another website.

MACHU PICCHU

No words can do this place justice. The city of Machu Picchu really is amazing, and it really is a city. Even with the hordes of tourists, it is easy to find peaceful parts of the ruins and gain respect for this amazing site. I was impressed by so much; the water irrigation system, the flawless stonework of the gigantic stones, the planning of the city, the sunrise casting images onto the stones, the overall power that a place can have on you.

The gringo can play

The night before our 5AM wake up call for Machu Picchu, we went Salsa dancing with a group of muscians in Aguas Calientes, with their manager, Vanessa, leading the charge. Kate, (another girl from out ethnomusicology program who had emailed Adam about meeting up beforehand) introduced us to this group of musicians who became completely infatuated with her when they found out that she could play charango and sing in quechua. They then crammed into a taxi, practicing songs, and for the first time ever, a gringo woman played charango up in aguas calientes. The Musicians were so cool, and very enthusiastic with us filming them, so we went out on a soccer field and filmed them play a couple songs. Later we jammed with them in their hostel room, exchanging rhythms and styles. I got my first Siku flute lesson. The warmth and hospitality that these guys gave us is a very good omen for the rest of our time here.

This was the second group that we got to film and jam with, so far so good.





Adam and Vanessa up on Machu Picchu



The musicians (Edward, Carlos, Raul + KATE!)



With the dudes

Putuqusi

Two minutes to spare as the craziest cab ride of my life parked us in front of the train station for Machu Picchu. “Mucho touristicas” was all our driver could say between careening around the streets of Cusco, collecting people and money, and stopping to use several public telephones. All we could do was sit back and shelf out the money for this all-inclusive trip to the Mecca for South American tourists. The train came to an unexpected halt for a solid 45 minutes while engineers ran back and forth through the cabins. Even once it started, the train ride gave the dogs running along side it a good race as it zig-zagged out from the hills of Cusco. The four hour ride continued into the sacred valley through a massive canyon, then descending further into the cloud forest. This final part of the train ride took us to the town of Aguas Calientes. This town is shoddily built given the massive influx of tourists, and most 3rd floors of buildings are unfinished. After lunch, the undying energy of being in the Andes seized me and Adam, and we decided to head up the peak of Putuqusi.








To get to the trail head we walked through Gringo land, passing tourists sitting along the tracks at outdoor restaurants, the Peruvians unloading goods from a train, and builders along the tracks. As soon as we stepped onto the trail, it was obvious that we were in the jungle. Continuing on, the otherwise steep path became completely transformed when we arrived upon massive, wooden, 200 foot ladders. Filtering out the weak, these ladders endlessly climb up the mountain; at times it is a scramble up vertical rocks with a cable. As we kept up on the path, the colossal, phallic, mountains of green revealed themselves, connected by the domain of an unadulterated valleys. The most rewarding part of the hike was the corner right before the summit, where we could hear a crew of Musicians playing Siku flute, in complete harmony with their surroundings. Directly behind them were the ruins of Macchu Pichu. To top it off, we jammed with these dudes later in town and filmed them playing live.