Festival of Santa Rosa, Patron St of nurses

Ok, the first weekend I was in Cajamarca I was told that we would be celebrating Nurse´s day, or the day of Santa Rosa, de Lima, the patron saint of nuses. I figured, ok, that´s probably like any of our many minor holidays that nobody really does anything for--Arbor Day or Columbus Day for examples. Oh, how I underestimated the ability of the Peruvians to party.

I looked it up--there are 3,000 festivals in Peru annually--that means there is partying being had in several places around the country every single day. And Peruvians don´t mess around, folks. Their fireworks, though quite terrifying, put all American efforts to shame....sure I was afraid that at any moment, the vast structures of bamboo and metal, which they attached fireworks to and set to flame mere feet from observers, would explode and consume the hundreds of bystanders who came out for the show, but it was spectacular! And at the same time that these structures were setting off domino-effects of fireworks as well as shooting fireworks up in the sky, several instrumental bands were playing, and people were dancing in the streets. It was a fabulous feast for the eyes. I stood close to one of the many family members who had come out for the evening and just let myself be mesmerized by all the happenings. Every so often, my trance would be interrupted by someone shoving a shot of pisco or a small, communal glass of beer at me.

After the fireworks ended, we stopped into a little food stall for some piping hot, delicious tamales. Then someone ran for a bottle of Licor Anisado (hard liqour made from Anis). The bottle and a small glass was passed around the circle, each person pouring a shot for the next until the bottle was gone. Never have I seen a bottle of liqour go so fast...and I again, I state, I´m from a Catholic family, that likes to have fun! Each time the bottle came to me, I tried to explain, look I´m a little Gringa, and I don´t have the tolerance of a Peruvian...but their desire to win the game of get the white girl drunk prevailed. We took to the streets after the bottle was gone to dance. The fabulous part about the family unit, is that I always feel safe. They are like personal body guards, always on the lookout for eachother.

In the US, it´s always the kids who stay out and party late, right? Well here, the first to retire to the car to pass out were the teen-agers, followed by me and the aunts, and finally finally finally, the uncles and my ¨dad¨stumbled to the car around 3:30am. I have to admit, I was a little worried about how much the drivers had drunk as well as the fact that we were in the mountains, but who was I to protest? These people are pros...so I closed my eyes and trusted, and sure enough we got home with no problems whatsoever.

Now, the party didn´t stop with one night...oh no. I woke up at 8:30 the next day for a parade of grand scale, followed by a lunch with the nurses and doctors at the clinic. The lunch was supposed to be at 2, but since nothing runs on time here, ever, we didn´t eat until almost 4...which left a lot of time for various cheers to nurses, and of course everyone´s favorite game--make Rachel, or as I´m called here: Raquelita, drink! It helps somewhat that I´m allergic to yeast and so cannot drink beer...even still they got me to take a few sips, and I could not get out of drinking 4 pisco sours...oh geeze. Nothing like being tipsy in the afternoon with a bunch of people who can´t understand you when you´re sober! Food was of course followed by dance: cumbia and salsa. The ``lunch`` went until about 6:10, when we realized, oh no! We´re missing the prayer service for Santa Rosa...so the bunch stumbled to the chuch, which by the way is no problem at all to be a little tipsy at chuch on a holiday, in fact, it might be the only way to go. Then around 7, I sleepily went home, while the rest stayed out...I´m telling you, we Americans pale in comparison to Peruvians in our ability to party. They work very hard and they play very hard.

LUNCH!

Other things I´ve been up to lately: Hiked to some waterfalls in the country; visited the baños del Inca for a soak in a warm sulfery hot spring that the Incan royalty used to bathe in; hiked through a rock forest called Cumbe Mayo that features pre-Incan water canals cut from stone; and of course acquired myself another Peruvian ``boyfriend.``

Tonight, there´s another fiesta for something or other...

Cumbemayo