Bolivia day 2
Good Fiesta!
Everybody comes out to line the streets in tiers as various groups (from various regions of Bolivia) parade through. It’s loud and colourful and some of the costumes are amazing. All age groups are involved and there are little re-enactments of Indigenous Vs Spanish battles.
Everybody drinks Taquina, the regional beer, and eats all kinds of animals.
Please, just one more drink
Drunk men fall on your heads (one did on ours), then, after a few hours, the chicha truck comes along.
Chicha is the drink whose fermentation is traditionally started by women chewing on maize. The masticated mash is then added to the brew and the magic begins. You are passed a half coconut shell of the stuff. You spill a few drops for Pachamama, then you knock it back. Everybody chants,
‘Chicha, chicha’.
The Mayor dances
Things get louder.
More people fall out of the air.
It goes on into the night.
The next day (Sunday), the whole thing starts up again, only this time people get really drunk.
Monday is very quiet.
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