Checking Out the Dummies

Dear Family and Friends,

Ecuadorians have several wonderful traditions on New Year's Eve.  One tradition is to make or buy a dummy that represents some person or event from the past year that you would like to put behind you.  They take the dummy into the street and burn it on New Year's Eve and then put the person or event behind them.  Let it go.

It is all done in fun and on New Year's Eve about midnight the city of Cuenca looks like a war zone because of arial fire works going off and dummies burning on the streets everywhere you look.

In the week before New Year's Eve there are many vendors selling dummies to be burned.  All you have to do is get a dummy body and buy a mask and you are all set.

There are thousands of dummy bodies to choose.  All shapes and sizes.

Thousands of masks.  I found one of Rafeal Correa, President of Ecuador and maybe a mask of Obama right below him.

So, as you can see, you can buy a body of a doctor, put on a mask and fire away.  Don't worry Dr. Martinez we didn't buy it.

Or the dentist.....

Maybe a policeman....

or...........

We got so caught up in the fun that one of us decided to try on a mask and see how she looks as a blonde.

And one of us got attached to one of the paper mache animals.

I asked him what he was going to do with it and he showed me when we got home.

Oh my goodness!

Hope he remembers to take it off his scooter before he sets it on fire.

To get an idea of the craziness around here on New Year's Eve click on the Burning Bush story.

Love,
Nancy