Yesterday, Fat Tuesday, is commonly known as Carnival, or Dia de los Innocentes (Day of the Innocents) in Guatemala. I was invited to a celebration at one of my schools and boy was I unprepared for what I would walk into. For one thing I should have picked up my own arsenal of confetti first. Apparently the tradition here is to wear masks and throw confetti (called pica pica) and colored hollowed-out egg shells (called cascarones) filled with confetti at people. Call me a wuss, but the eggs actually really hurt because they didn't just throw them they slammed them into peoples' heads. I legitimately almost left before the event finally started at 9:30 I was already so covered in confetti. The vast majority of kids were wearing masks which ranged from homemade to store bought. A bunch were made of the same construction paper cutout which made me think that more than just one school day was taken for this event. Such is life in Guatemala.
The event started with each grade dancing. There were no choreographed dance moves. It was more like the just stood in a line and wiggled around while music was playing. The Kindergarteners were super cute (see first picture) below). After dancing they had the "cascara fight" where they threw what seemed like pounds of glitter, confetti, and egg shells at each other. Me being the new person I feel like I got the most glitter and eggs cracked on me. This was literally the least pleasant. I kinda tried to stand up against the wall of the school so at least I wasn't attacked on all sides. When I got back I took a shower, but even today I am still finding glitter. It really is the herpes of craft supplies.
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| Only two of the older kids wanted to dance |
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| ALL of those specks are confetti |
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| Getting hit in the head with a cascaron filled with confetti |
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| Getting hit in the head with a cascaron filled with confetti |
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| His egg creation |
A bunch of kids wanted their pictures taken as I was leaving - they are so cute it's hard to be mad at them even if I was covered head to toe in confetti and glitter.
This sounds like the Color Run.. only cheaper and more painful
ReplyDeleteDid this take up the entire school day? It sort of looks like a free-for-all. Were teachers watching to make sure the fun didn't segue into rowdy--as it likely would have at home?
ReplyDeleteAnd a fun day was had by [almost] all.
Fat Tuesday came and went in KC without confetti or glitter. We did have one church on Ash Wednesday doing drive-through ashes. Such is life in the USA.
ReplyDeleteThanks or the ongoing reports, Ms. M. I'd be interested to hear ... what do Guatemalans give up for Lent?