Happy New Years

Before I go into the New Years celebration, I have one comment. Alabama´s influence in Ecuador has either a.) grown since the last time I was here, or b.) I've become more observant. "b" might be a bit of a stretch...

ANYWAYS, I spotted yet another great shirt from good ole dixieland.



And, for all you Camp Mac alumni, do you remember "Movie Call"? That song that sounded like someone trying to imitate popcorn on the keyboard?  Well, it's in Ecuador. Some fellow had it popping right out of his phone (quick side note: many Ecuadorians AREN'T fans of headphones, instead opting to share their music with everyone in the vicinity). So, like I said, Alabama has some pull in Ecuadorian culture, intended or not.

Now onto the New Year's celebration.

In order to celebrate the new year and the passing of the old year, Ecuadorians make life-size and bigger paper maché or stuffed manikins called monigotes or años viejos (old years). These años viejos wear masks representing people who have done something bad, good, funny, or just about anything else over the year.

At midnight, they burn the años viejos to usher in the new year. All the while, las viudas (the widows) of the años viejos are represented by men running around in drag. They often string rope across roads, demanding a small toll from any vehicle wishing to pass. I've added some pics of the festivities below.

Not sure who the centaur represents, just thought it was pretty awesome.

 Below are two años viejos of President Rafeal Correa, a common choice to burn because of the dramatic "attempted coup" a few months back. These were two of my favorite

KILL ME MY FRIENDS!!!

One of the "viudas"

Don't worry, it stopped.

This was only half the supply at one store, and it was ALL EMPTY at 7:00 PM 

Some of the años viejos on my street.

Miner (?) heading towards an unhappy ending.

One of the burnings.



At the stroke of midnight, the años viejos were burned, people hugged (sorry guys, New Years kiss isn't tradition down here), and dancing proceded until the wee hours of the morning. Not a bad way to usher in the New Year.

My resolutions? I have a couple. 1. No more soda (except the occasional mixed drink- it's tougher than you'd think in this heat). 2. Do a better job of letting people know what they mean to me. Easy enough, right? Nothing that guayusa and guayusa ceremonies can't help me achieve.

To wrap up this entry, a compare and contrast with my sis' life.

Ryne has fires to warm the spirit and ward off -40 degree (farenheit or celsius) temps. We have fires to burn off old spirits and, honestly, they don´t change the temp that much.

Happy 2011 to everyone!