Our morning was spent at Condado Shopping Mall in Quito getting some adult refreshments and some extra nibble food along with some champagne toasting glasses. We were told that we needed grapes, 12 grapes eaten was luck for the 12 new months. We had to pass as the price for that 12 months was a little prohibitive for us at the SuperMaxi, we thought maybe we could buy some on the street, but the women had moved by the time we completed our shopping. We saw the red underwear that was worn on New Years for love in the new year and the yellow underwear you would wear for financial wealth being sold in store windows. We talked about trying this, but passed on it this year.. maybe next year I wear yellow or get out my Sponge Bob ones! Picked up some dog food as you can never have enough of the brand your pups like and we were going to take a taxi home cause that is how we roll on food shopping days.
We were surprised to see our Project Manager for our business, Juan, in the house as he had just made the long car ride from Cuenca (10 hours) and we expected him to be catching some zzzz's until the New Year celebrations got started. Needless to say, there was a lot of catching up to do and pictures to see of him and our friends dog he was babysitting, the stories of how he went from getting charged by Robbie the 90 pound golden retriever to best human friend on the planet was hysterical. He was explaining that the "cone of shame" he needed to use when Robbie started licking a bee sting was when he turned the corner with Robbie. He said when he realized that he needed me to take it off, he started staying close to me. Want versus need is amazing, eh?
Juan left early but not before we celebrated the "Three Amigos" for another amazing year. Juan had been our biggest form of support for everything we accomplished this year. House hunting, cable companies, water companies, gardeners, housekeepers, employees, textile mill hunting, sewing notions, pattern designs, textile cutting and painting, compressor purchases, new visas, all would have taken us so much more time than it did with Juan. His loyalty and his" keep going" attitude is more than any person could ask for. We appreciate him more than he will ever know.
The early evening was for watching the final episode of "Breaking Bad"! I won't ruin it for you, but holy moley they had a lot to close out for the last few episodes. I had trouble putting it all in order on the Fifth Season, part B.
The evening festivities really started in earnest about 9 pm with sporadic fireworks, nothing to write home about at this point. My better half, Ed, went upstairs to see if there were any countdowns that he could find on the tv. At 11 pm the first real sets of fireworks started, these were on par with some that I have seen at baseball games, I am constantly surprised at the quality of them. The sky was filled with floating lanterns and fireworks, it was spectacular to see. When there was only 30 minutes left the music started and the neighbors started gathering outside toasting each other and greeting the other families with, "Happy New Year". Many of the men were walking around pouring Johnny Walker into their glass and offering it to Ed and I so we could share in the libation and the moment. It was really cool. (Ed told me don't worry the alcohol kills any germs... ) I wasn't worried in the slightest, I think it was him!
We then saw the neighbors bring out Magotes which are effigies of politicians, pop culture figures and other icons of the year to torch in the street. This tradition of burning the "ano viejo"( old year ) is symbolic of cleansing the bad from the previous 12 months before the new year commences. If your going for extra good luck you can jump the flames 12 times for each month, although you risk joining the Magote (effigies) in the fires. The tradition of the effigy burning is said to go back to the 1895 yellow fever epidemic that hit Guayaquil especially hard. That year people packed coffins with the clothes of the dead and set them in flames, the act being a symbol and a purification rite. Now the figures that are burned are more lighthearted and elaborate, like the figures of Space Jam that were burned recently. Some effigies are vividly painted and paraded through the city, while most families purchase the scarecrow types stuffed with newspaper and covered with a mask purchased from one of the many street vendors. Before the evenings bonfires, men will dress as "Widows" of the effigies and beg for money in mourning in the streets. In Quito this is very loosely translated, as the widows look a lot like cross dressers, but they do dance with you and then ask for a few pennies. Just let your imagination roll on this description and I am sure you can imagine what it looks like.
When we were shopping we saw hundreds of effigies lining the street for sale. Our neighbors lit their scarecrow on fire at the curb of their house to denote that 2013 is over and it is time for 2014. They jumped over the burning Magotes (effigies). I was surprised to see not only kids jumping, adults joined in the fun too. The neighborhood celebration was warm and fun to watch they didn't keep to themselves, they opened their celebration to us and included us. It was the best New Years celebration we have had in a long time. It wasn't inside, it was outside and it was included the our whole development.
We hear lots of people complain all the time about their experiences here. I can only say that for us it is not that way, we are part of the community and are welcomed each time we are out. That is the way I would always want it and I thank them too for making our New Years Eve an experience worth the wait. It was spectacular. I am so looking forward to 2014.
This is the family that lives next door to us, their sons soccer ball
occasionally ends up in our pool so we have met them over retrieving their
SSSSSSSCCCCCCOOOOOOOORRRRRRE into the pool.
Our other neighbors' daughter is completing her jump over the burning
Magote (effigie)! Please notice her red shoes , she is hoping for a romantic 2014!
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