8.) 25.07.08 Peruvian Independance Day

Today is a big fiesta in the community for the Peruvian independance day, which is on Monday. The kids will march down the main village path wearing red and white (peruvian national colors), there will be music, games and fun. It all starts at 10in the morning - the local wood-crafts man, who is already downing drinks with some budys offers me a cup of something home brewed which he calls "whiskacito" at about 9 am.
I give it a try out of politeness and decide that it´s best to have breakfast before drinking any more of that stuff. The wood-crafter called "Jorge" sits in a wheelchair but is always in the best of moods- not only when he´s drinking whiskey. He seems to have the job of the entertainer for todays event and they are setting up a ghettoblaster with a plastic microphone for him to talk. The kids start gathering around all wearing their school uniforms or red and white and waving little peruvian flags they made at school.
Slowly more people come around and when the whole communtiy is gathered around Jorges "porch" (which is decorated with red and white baloons) Jorge starts with a little introduction speech. Following him all the local celebrities (the head teacher, the community chief, and other important men) talk for a while into the plastic microphone about things that sound like
"Dear Mister Head teacher, dear comminity chief, dear family fathers, dear students and foreign visitors (meaning alex and me), I would like to welcome you all to our festivities for the Peruvian independance day. We are proud to be peruvians, blah blah blah."
Everybody seems to be saying more or less the same thing. I Feel that I have to say something too, as evertybody is addressing us especially and they even applaud us, when we are first introduced by Jorge.
Since Eduardo is there too, he can translate for me. I excuse myself for not being able to say everything in Spanish and tell them that we are very grateful to be here and thank them for their hospitality (blah blah). They all applaud and seem to take it well.
Then the kids do their little march, which is pretty rediculous: march music through a funky ghetto blaster (powered by a car battery) and about 15 kids with handmade flags marching down the muddy jungle path, past all the community members that sit on school chairs along the path. The literally walk for about 15 meters and thats it.
Great fun. I take some equally rediculous pictures. Anyway, everybody seems to be really enjoying themselves and after the "official" part is over they start giving out egg sandwiches and lemonade. The men all seem to be drinking something else, judging by their pretty funky way of walking by now.
Later in the afternoon we get to witness an almost fight of our 18 year old neighbour (who looks like 14) who is absolutely shitcanned and tries to box with Angel, my foster-dad. Angel is hardly able to walk at that point and the youngsters mum has to go between them to stop the fight.
Angel disapears in the evening with all the other men of the community, to the nearby village which has a bar.
Late at night we hear him coming home and Nilsa (his wife) goes down to tell him some very harsh sounding words. He is not allowed upstairs and has to spend the night in the hammock outside, lamenting and singing for about an hour before he finally falls asleep..