The Town of Ayacucho
After our stay in Andahuaylas which, unfortunately, ended with me getting my wallet picked in the bus, we headed on to Ayacucho, where we had to spend several days to sort out the police reports and our other documents. While this delay meant that we had to give up on visiting the town of Pisco down on the coast, Ayacucho is not such a bad place to get stuck, despite having to spend four hours in line at the bank to pay $1.66 to get a copy of a police report. The town was getting ready for a festival on the day that we arrived, so we took advantage of the opportunity to soak up some local culture.
One of the interesting customs for this particular festival (the name of which we never could figure out, but it might have been Santa Anna) is for the kids to make representations of their school crests and religious motifs on the main square. They do this with various materials, including sawdust of different woods, flower petals and leaves. The end result is quite beautiful. Then, the town holds a parade on the square, with dancing kids in traditional costumes, marching brass bands, and local dignitaries. Their footsteps destroy the beautiful flower carpets and all the children's work in a few moments; it is very Zen.
Ayacucho is otherwise noteworthy as the place where the Shining Path had its beginnings 30 years ago. The people here are still trying to come to grips with the ensuing violent civil war that hit this district harder than any other. While we were there, a group of women was weaving a scarf for the missing of the conflict, which they believe will reach some 1.5 km (about a mile) in length. While we did not end up having enough time to actually sit down and speak with people about the conflict, we did get to pick up a few interesting-looking books on the subject written by local authors which we are looking forward to reading.
Otherwise, we simply enjoyed the excellent restaurants and cafes in town, and took in a free movie about the 1973 coup d'etat in Chile in the cultural center. All in all, it was a good time. Enjoy the pictures!
September 8th, 2010 - 09:32
Maybe the festivities were in preparation for a new upraisal… Get out of there in time, like you did in Guatemala.