A full week of celebration
Carnaval is Mardi Gras. Taquileños who are working in Tacna, or Lima, or anywhere in between, come home to dance, to be with their families, to support family members who are leaders of the groups. Nine different group leaders are authorities of the celebration, leading dancers and musicians from house to house.
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| Silvano, Sam, Tara |
Unlike New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, and other Mardi Gras celebrations, Ash Wednesday is our BIGGEST party day, with all nine groups gathered in the central plaza in a grand dance competition, cacaphony of several bands playing different sections of the rhythm all at the same time.
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| Colorful, with paper streamers, all set for the big day on Wednesday. |
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| Sam and Tara in the Plaza on (Ash) Wednesday |
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| Twirling yarn "wiichi-wiichis" as we dance |
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| Three (or four?) groups converge |
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| Sam is invited to sit next to the group leader, an honor |
Sometimes it is a rock climb, in all our skirts and regalia, to dance to the next house:
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| large group, rock climbing |
It all ends on Sunday night. This photo is too late in the day, but does show the change of clothes. The younger people shed layers, including to nearly day-glow skirts and run a VERY energetic dance all around the plaza until they go off to group or private disco-ish parties that go on most of the night.
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