As I promised yesterday, this is the continuation of the Cuenca independence celebration. Yesterday we went to San Sebastian plaza to see the parade of the indigenous people who live in the surrounding mountainside villages.
Although the parade is very colorful, it is by far NOT the most popular parade during the independence celebration. Most of the local people were attending the military parade which was going on at the same time.
I, myself, had looked forward to this parade all week. This was the one event of the celebration I wanted to be sure to witness.
The costumes were very colorful and the participants were happy and dancing in the street.
Some of the attire seemed more authentic than others. For example these children seem to be wearing hand made clothing. You will also notice that they do not have shoes on. They walked the entire cobble stoned parade route (approx. 2 miles) barefoot. I am positive if they were used to wearing shoes every day they would not have been able to do this. I know I could not walk across the street barefoot today, but when I was a kid down south, I went all summer without shoes and my feet were tough.
There were not many people along the parade route. Most of the people in the plaza seemed to be relatives and friends of the parade participants. A peppering of tourists, like us, had chosen this parade over the military parade.
After the parade ended and people were milling around the plaza there were many photo opportunities.
Besides the parade, there were food vendors. Does this scene look familiar? This is a common sight in Cuenca. We see whole roasted pigs everyday.
Chuck and I enjoyed ourselves right along with the others. Fun and smiles were everywhere. We were so glad we went to this event.
Thank you for letting us share with you.Love,
Nancy and Chuck
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