Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Dear Ecuador, A Goodbye Letter

(Note: The "Dear Ecuador" letter idea, while ingenious, is not mine. I credit my friends Maya Rosas for coming up with such a sentimental blog entry idea and Ellie Wolf for inspiration)

Dear Ecuador,

As our relationship matures, I feel that there are a few issues that have made themselves evident that warrant a frank yet sincere discussion. While we have only known each other four months, I feel that our lives are moving in different directions. Our parting was inevitable, and we both knew that when we first got together in August. I appreciate you taking on such a heavy relationship with a known expiration date- December 28th, 2008.
Nevertheless, I have a few issues that I would like to address with you. It has become apparent to me that you have let yourself fall into disrepair, neglecting even the most basic elements of personal hygiene, let alone personal safety. A few weeks ago I was walking down the street and came across a power line ready to keel over. It was apparent that the power pole had an untimely and unlucky meeting with a high speed automobile, but you failed to address the situation. At all. And now it poses a rather large safety risk for not only yourself, Ecuador, but to countless others.
Really Ecuador?! C'mon!!

Now I will admit, sometimes I invite your wrath. Out of the too many to count times that I have almost met my own untimely death with high speed automobiles while crossing the street, a few have been my fault. I failed to recognize the unwritten rule (or art, depending on who you ask) of jaywalking, and have stepped in front of high speed objects, like busses for example. I will give you that, Ecuador, I will give you that. BUT. Almost daily, I am honked at for crossing the street on a "walk" sign because some impatient driver wants to cross. I really thought you would have been more polite than that, Ecuador. I really did.

And lets not mention your rather strange choice of wardrobe....

Okay now, who do you expect to hide from wearing that?

But to each their own. I'm just saying......

But seriously, sometimes you really surprise me. Your positive aspects shine through like a ray of sunshine on a cold Ecuadorian winter day. Just as many times as I've almost been hit by a car, I have seen random acts of kindness that just make my heart melt. On crowded busses, where seats are prized possessions, younger patrons willingly give up their own seats to the elderly and injured. This act seems to be encoded into the cultural HTML code of Ecuadorian society, along with other traits such as drinking Pilsener beer or saying "cheverre" every five seconds.
Along with the random acts of politeness Ecuador, your hospitality never ceases to amaze me. Countless times I have been in a bar and had drinks purchased for me by that new Ecuadorian friend I just met. The discussion, while sometimes drunken and sloppy, is sincere.


And other times, I have met people from completely different backgrounds than myself, who's hospitality and warm acts of kindness brightened my day-


While you sometimes neglect your children, they seem rather content with their humble relationships with you. Ecuador, you have a charm about you that is undeniable.

Not to mention your personality. That complex mix of your personal history, geographic location, and cultural make-up. You have a very engaging personality, Ecuador, you really do. I thoroughly enjoy your diversity, originality, and pride. You are host to many different ideas and socio-economic groups that seem to co-exist peacefully. Although you may have gone through a brief 10 year period of harsh military dictatorships, (which can be forgotten about) your modern history has shown much progress. You brag about cultural plurality, and rightfully so. I have learned a lot from you.

A perfect example of your core-elements. The indigenous population, (represented by the Indigenous woman in the foreground) juxtaposed against a staunch symbol of imperialism-A colonial Spanish Church in the background. On the left hand side is the influence of modern capitalism with shops selling the same tourist trinkets as their neighbors.

Nevertheless, my love affair with you had an expiration date. And that date is rapidly approaching. I understand that the following phrase, while loaded with double meanings and hidden messages, is not the most sincere or honest but-

It's not you, it's me.

Numerous times, I have passed way too harsh a judgment on you without trying to see it from your point of view. Too many times I have snapped at shop owners who failed to break my five dollar bill for a one dollar purchase. However, I failed to realize that you, Ecuador, have no control over your own minting because you use my country's money. I will own up to it, Ecuador, I have been too harsh on you and failed to try and empathize with your situation.
Other times, I have exploded over "Ecuadorian" basketball rules. I have always thought the hand was part of the ball, and physical play was an innate part of the game. You disagree with me. Instead of trying to find a happy medium, (not to mention the fact I was playing in Ecuador. And home court plays with home court rules) I acted childish, sometimes giving you legitimate reasons to call fouls on me. Sometimes the other person ended up on the floor and I almost ended up in a fight. And you still didn't leave me or give up on me. And for that, I am eternally indebted to you.
Okay, I will cut to the point. I have always appreciated your honesty, such as the times you so not subtly ask me to repeat something because of my thick gringo accent, or the other times you just outrightly correct my grammatical mistakes. So I will reciprocate the same-

I feel this relationship is not going anywhere productive

I have pretty much retreated from you, choosing to eat sub-par imitation hamburgers (no offense man but nobody can compete with In and Out) over your specialty, mote, empanadas or japingachos. I choose to read English news over your El Comercio, and am anxiously counting down the days until my mom arrives.
I feel disengaged with this relationship and feel that I am no longer willing to compromise. And that, to be frank, is not fair to you. At all. You deserve somebody who wants to love and nurture a relationship with you. Because you deserve it.
I am sorry, Ecuador.
But I feel this is for the best.
Best of luck in all your future endeavors and if you choose to never speak to me again, I understand. I hope that one day we can be friends and continue a life together.
With the utmost respect and admiration,
Josue

Friday, December 5, 2008

The Festivals of Quito

From November 28th to December 6th, the city of Quito celebrates it's founding. As the oldest capital in South America, Quito has a rich tradition of history spanning over 400 years. Although it was a major trading post in the Incan Empire, the city was annexed into the Spanish empire on December 6, 1534 by Conquistador by Sebastian de Benalcazar. As is the tradition in Ecuador and most of Latin America, the date of a city's founding is held with high significance. Quito has a week long festival of events- parades, parties, special cultural events, and the much anticipated bullfights.
For the 10 days of the festivals, Toreadores from around the world come to Quito for the Competition of the Bulls. Like many other aspects of Quiteño culture, Spanish-style bullfighting was imported during the time of colonialism. With a long and rich history, the "art of the bulls" (as it is called) lives today.
While I fundamentally disagree with the idea of bullfighting, due to the cultural significance of the event I had to attend to see it with my own eyes. We purchased tickets days in advance as this is by far the most popular event of the festivals. 20 dollars a pop for nosebleed. I was eager to see a one-on-one fight. Man vs. Bull. I wanted to see something get real jacked up, preferably a toreador. What I got instead was an 8 on one massacre with pansy Toreadors. It was nonetheless an interesting experience to say the least.
We entered the Plaza de Torros and I was shocked at the scene- In the courtyard, gourmet food vendors were selling such rare delicacies as sushi and meat and cheese platters. The finest wine and spirit vendors were there as well. The people were just as fancy as the food. Everybody was in their Sunday's best while I was dressed like I was going to a baseball game. Apparently, there were local politicians and pop culture icons in attendance as well.

The main entrance to the Plaza de Torros

A cool sign in the middle of the stadium

Chilling in our seats

The Toreadors came out in a grand presentation. Every fight has 6 bulls and 6 toreadors. To be a toreador, one needs an ample amount of money to pay and maintain a large herd of cattle. Its a rather expensive "sport" to play, so Toreadors are usually members of the aristocracy. Apparently Toreadors are the equivalent to major sports stars in the States in regards to fame and glory.

The presentation of the Toreadors

Before the bull enters the ring, his testicles are tied up with a chord in order to anger him. (I mean, that would anger me as well..) Then, he charges into the ring. A group of men with sheets bait the bull to chase after them. When the bull approaches, they hide behind a wooden enclave. They continue this for a few minutes in order to tire the bull.
The bull ring. Notice the little enclaves on the sides where the Toreadors hide. Real tough, I know...

After that, two armored men on horseback come into the ring. They are equipped with giant spears. They proceed to bait the bull, and from horseback, poke the bull in a strategic spot in between his shoulders. Twice. The bull starts gushing blood and retreats. After that, two men holding large daggers come out. Their job is to jab the daggers in between the bulls shoulders. By this point, the bull will have two holes in it´s back, and 4 daggers in it's shoulders.

The horse in the top right corner has huge armor sides to protect it from the bull. The other men are the "assistants" and the Toreador is in the middle ready to olé.

The bull with 4 daggers in it's back. The culprits that stuck those daggers in it's back are hiding behind the wooden wall.

FINALLY the Toreador comes out. After all that. He gets a standing ovation also. He has his cape and starts to "olé" the bull. Every the bull goes under the Toreador's cape, the crowd yells "olé!"

Olé!!



Another olé. However, unlike the other bullfighters, this bullfighter actually got taken down by the bull. Notice his ripped jeans and gore mark on his calf. It was the coolest part of the whole event was watching this guy get ravaged

After a while, the Toreador goes to get his, as my friends and I nicknamed it, the "death sword." This is a huge sword that the Toreador is supposed to jam in the Bulls shoulders that will end the fight once and for all. Ideally, that is. Out of all 6 bulls, only 2 died with one blow. If you fail with the first blow, the crowd boos. Then you receive, as my friends and I called it, the "wimp sword." This sword is even bigger than the last one and is easier to remove so you can jab it back in again. One Toreador needed to stab the bull 4 times before it died.

The first Death Sword lodged in the Bulls back. The second blow was about to come


About to deliver the death blow

The slaying of the bull

After the bull is finally dead, the clean up crew comes out. They load the bull onto a horse-drawn truck bed and cart him off. His meat will be sold for profit. Then, in a similar fashion to baseball games, the in-field crew comes out to sweep the dirt.

The clean up crew

Carting off the dead bull



Towards the end of the bull fights, it started raining. The crowd became a multi-colored array of ponchos.

The only thing of skill I saw in the whole event was the one fight between a man on a horse and a bull. He did every single part of the aforementioned process alone, while on horseback. He stabbed the bull multiple times while the bull was chasing him. The skill for me was the fact that he had to manuever his horse away from the bull while at the same time trying to stab it.


Although I don't know much about equestrian sport, I could tell that this Toreador had spent years and years with his horse. In between the chases with the bull, he would perform show tricks with his horse. While it was impressive, It didn't change my opinion on the whole event. I still fundamentally disagreed with bullfights and will never go to one again. But I have no regrets on going to this one.
So that night, (December 6th, Quito's Independence Day) we went out on the town. We went to the Mariscal, a bar district known for partying.
The festivals are infamous for pick pockets so I put everything I had with me on my inside pocket of my jacket. The place was jam packed, a perfect place for pick pockets, especially since everybody was drunk. The streets were closed off and you could barely move. After eating mediocre Mexican food, we met up with some of our Ecuadorian friends, Carlos and Andres. We all decided that we wanted to find a Chiva, or party bus similar to the one I took in Baños. During the festivals of Quito, there are party busses that go all around the city. The only point of them is to get really drunk and, well, party. So we decided to pre-game a little before hand.

Me with my friend Sophie and 2 Ecuadorian friends Carlos and Andres. The cameraman is already inebriated. We still had some catching up to do

On our way to a liquor store, we stumbled upon a street parade. By this point we had already started partying and were not exactly sober. The parade featured some rather strange things, ranging from Ecuadorian cheer leaders to bizarre creatures on stilts to military bands and princess-carrying floats.

Strange Clown creatures.

Weird stilt men

An army of cheerleaders

more weird stilt men and a float


By far the strangest thing I have ever seen in a parade, let alone on stilts in a parade

A princess-carrying float thing

Some dancers dressed as Devils

A military band


Cool costumes

Spontaneous fireworks that erupted from nowhere

After the parade ended, we continued our quest to find the Chiva bus. No luck. After an hour or so of searching (and drinking of course) most of the members of our group decided to call it a night. Now, it was just me, my friend Max, and our two Ecuadorian friends. We meet up with some of his other friends to drink more. By this time, it's about 12:30am. We literally walk into a Chiva party bus ready to depart. So of course, we hop on, But Carlos and his friends decide they want to go to sleep so they leave.
The Chiva Party bus

So now, its just me and my buddy Max. We are immediately handed drinks, which of course we do not need but graciously accept. Drunkenly, we climb on the roof of the Chiva and start yelling and screaming. The bus stops off on the side of the road and everybody gets out. Suddenly, an improv dance party breaks out on the street. Afterwards, we all board the bus and head back to the Mariscal. The Chiva drops us off around 2am and we say goodbye to our new friends.

w00t w00t!! Party bus!!

hanging out of the party bus.

After that, we both hop a taxi and head home. Quiteños sure know how to have a good time, and we celebrated the anniversary of the founding of Quito in style.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Josh goes to an Ecuadorian Soccer Game

With our study trips finished, the last part of the program is to write a 20-25 page research paper. All in spanish. Lacking the motivation to work, I decided that having a study date with a friend might motivate me. On the way to my house, we discovered a lot of people outside of the local stadium. Apparently, the "biggest game of the season" was going down in about an hour and a half. Liga vs. Quito: two Quito based teams, who were tied up in the standings. Winner of this game won the whole thing. So, it didn't take long for us to mutually decide, that, well, studying could wait a few hours. We dropped off our backpacks at my house and cruised to the stadium for the game.

The entrance to the Pichincha Sports Stadium

I never realized how passionate South America is about their football. The security was ridiculous: Police on horseback, police with guard dogs, police in riot gear, and undercover police.

Police on horseback outside the stadium before the game started

Police with bomb/other substance you are not allowed to bring in sniffing dogs

More police inside

The 40,000 person stadium was filled to capacity. Upon entrance, we were asked by the security whether we were Liga or Quito fans. We responded, "Quito," not knowing why they were asking.. We were then directed to one side of the stadium. Liga fans and Quito fans are separated by a giant barbed wire fence and riot police. To add to the security, the stadium has a giant moat of death that separates the fans from the field.

The giant moat. Taken from the Quito side. The blue seats are the Liga fans.

So, we were surrounded by passionate and angry Quito fans. Apparently, the last time these two teams played things got ugly on the field. And the fans were ready to support their troops in battle.

Team Quito recruits its fans young

Quito fans. Notice the random Gringo in the bottom right-hand corner

Before the game started, everything was rather peaceful and normal-people taking their seats, vendors selling food, families talking... We decided to get our grub on as well, and enjoyed a meal that would probably make my cardiologist very angry: Large beers, soda, and a hot dog filled to the brim.

Grub.

Kicking it at the game

still, minutes before the game, things were relatively peaceful. The Energizer Bunny was doing laps around the track.


However, chaos was about to erupt. Before we knew it, 35,000 people were shouting football chants in unison. It was rather confusing, as half the fans were shouting one chant for Liga and the other half were screaming for Quito. Then, loud booms cut the noise and a hail of smoke and paper flooded the field:


The aftermath

With the coolest "opening ceremony" I've ever seen, the game finally began. Soon, the crowd was shouting some rather obscene things at the Liga fans. I picked up on some new vocabulary, and being rather inebriated myself, decided to partake in the festivities. When in Rome, I figured... I decided it would be more fun to say them in English and my (now drunk) friend and I decided to have a 1-up match over who could say the most obscene things. The crowd, who didn't understand what we were saying, loved our enthusiasm. I love cultural immersion!!
Within minutes of the second half, Quito scored a sweet goal. The crowd went wild.

This lady is a big Quito fan

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quito ended up scoring another goal, putting the game at 2-0 with five minutes left. They went on to win it all, and the crowd went wild again.

Sad Liga fans after the game.

After the game, I returned back to my house. Motivated to do my work, I turned on my computer... To write this blog entry....
Until next time,
Ashtakakaman (adios in Kichwa)