Yamor Part 2: Parade
The next Yamor event I attended
was the enormous parade on Friday, August 31. And believe me when I say it's a
big deal: it lasted 3.5 hours!! I wrote about it last year, so feel free to
check out that description, too. The really cool thing about the event is that
people come from literally all over Ecuador and even some neighboring countries
to participate in the festival. As much as I enjoy the Yamor festivities, I
feel compelled to note that the true nature of the festival is wasted on me, as
it is a celebration of you particular kind of beer. In my opinion, Yamor chicha
is foul smelling. It is produced by women chewing up the grains, spitting them
out, and letting their saliva ferment the grains into beer. This particular
chicha is extra special because it is made from either 7 grains. For
more about the Yamor celebration, see below.
One float
featured an indigenous woman weaving (odd since according to the
literature, only indigenous men weave -- something I write about) and a
Condor!! I was over the moon!!
You'll also
see people in different indigenous clothing -- cooking, dancing, and playing
instruments -- featured in the floats. Can you spot the giant Aya Huma in the
last picture of this set?
There were many different dance and musical groups that performed in the street throughout the entire parade. I have to give these performers a lot of credit for continually performing while walking uphill during a 3.5 hour long parade! Some of the groups simply had incredible costumes or float designs. I’ve gotta hand it to these queens and candidates (above) who manage to look graceful atop these floats while throwing candy or flowers.
Can you imagine dancing with these headpieces?!
I especially
liked the college cheerleading group, which performed a lot of tricks; a dance
group consisting entirely of middle-aged/retired women; and a capoeira
group (capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of
dance, acrobatics, and music).
Some of the best performances are featured in short clips below.
I also got a
kick out of the random things that appeared in the parade: Bender from Futurama,
what look like characters from Bewitched, ladies dressed as
Playboy Bunnies with Heff (which offended many moms), and a man with an umbrella who I can only assume was
doing his best Mary Poppins impression ("I'm Mary
Poppins, y'all!" a la Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2).
Sadly, the aftermath was chaotic and I felt badly for the sanitation workers!
The noise of the crowd -- especially vendors constantly walking by, hawking their goods (even squeezing past floats throughout the parade) was tough to capture in a video -- but it's certainly part of the experience. I was so sick of hearing that plastic stools were being sold for $2 ("bancos dos dolares" in the clip) that I kept joking with Cristina if she knew where we could buy some stools and how much they might cost.
Can't get enough pan flutes?? I'm here for you!
Blue braids and sweet dance moves? Yes please!!
More About Yamor
“The word “Yamor” refers to a traditional beverage, which is brewed using seven varieties of corn and is unique to this area. This beverage flows freely during the festivities. The indigenous groups of Kichwa Cayambi and Kichwa Otavalo that live in the Otavalo area honour the Andean agricultural cycle and especially corn, which is considered to be a symbol of fertility. Corn is the staple crop grown in the area and has become a central symbol in the cultural and religious festival calendar of Ecuador.” (http://www.ecuador.com/blog/yamor-festivities-an-exciting-blend-of-traditions)
In addition to the events I attended, there are also sporting events, including swimming across a local lake, and a blessing of the crops. Since Yamor is about the harvest (of corn especially), there are a lot of food-centered activities and motifs throughout the celebrations.
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