Recently our volunteers received a great opportunity... the chance to see first hand how small villages, like Machaca, celebrate their Saints. Being the only tourist or Gringos made for quite an adventure.
After a 9-hour journey by bus through the mountains we have finally made it to Machaca, an extremely small self-sustaining village.
We all stood around in the village center and watched as the people carried their saint Señora Exaltacion and showered her with confetti from one corner to the next. They stopped at each corner blessing and praying all four sides of the village. The marching band followed playing Simon and Garfunkel ‘Sound of Silence’.
At the end of their small march the priest dipped flowers in water and started putting holy water on everyone. Then they began blessing all the automobiles by putting flowers, streamers and bows all over the cars, even pouring beer on the tires while praying for safe journeys home, since the roads are so dangerous… and the band continued playing ‘Sound of Silence’.
Finally one of the girls went up to the band members and said, “Why do you keep playing that song?” the man replied, “thats Señora Exaltacion’s favorite song.” We all got quite a chuckle out of that because after we had told them it was an old popular English song, but the men didn’t know what she was talking about. So apparently who ever the priest was at the time they started celebrating Señora Exaltacion really liked Simon and Garfunkel. We drank Chicha by night and attempted to blend in with the locals!
After a 9-hour journey by bus through the mountains we have finally made it to Machaca, an extremely small self-sustaining village.
We all stood around in the village center and watched as the people carried their saint Señora Exaltacion and showered her with confetti from one corner to the next. They stopped at each corner blessing and praying all four sides of the village. The marching band followed playing Simon and Garfunkel ‘Sound of Silence’.
At the end of their small march the priest dipped flowers in water and started putting holy water on everyone. Then they began blessing all the automobiles by putting flowers, streamers and bows all over the cars, even pouring beer on the tires while praying for safe journeys home, since the roads are so dangerous… and the band continued playing ‘Sound of Silence’.
Finally one of the girls went up to the band members and said, “Why do you keep playing that song?” the man replied, “thats Señora Exaltacion’s favorite song.” We all got quite a chuckle out of that because after we had told them it was an old popular English song, but the men didn’t know what she was talking about. So apparently who ever the priest was at the time they started celebrating Señora Exaltacion really liked Simon and Garfunkel. We drank Chicha by night and attempted to blend in with the locals!
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