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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Faroles at Santo Domingo




Dear family and friends,

Nancy is a bit under the weather, so I am filling in for her with this report on the display of faroles (paper lanterns) which covered several blocks of downtown Cuenca last night.
 
In Colombia, December 7 is the traditional day for turning on the Christmas decoration lights.  The first lights of the season are thousands and thousands of faroles. Father Gonzalo Suárez brought this tradition to Santo Domingo church, here in Cuenca, five years ago. Each year the celebration has grown. This year 5,800 faroles were on display.


Eighty parishioners volunteered to set up the display, while the priests and nuns made final adjustments to the temporary altar.



The faroles had been carefully constructed by hand. Some were made from soft drink bottles, while most were cardboard cutouts with colored tissue paper windows.




When they were all lit, it was a  magical sight











We are off to Quito tomorrow to pick up my sister Audrey and brother-in-law Jim Stephens who are arriving from Santa Rosa, California.

chao

Chuck


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