Could be a Wedding. Could be a Divorce. Who Knows?

Another day in Cuenca, another parade it seems.  Last night we heard music blaring from Parque Calderon in the center of town, with fireworks later. This morning we heard a band going by at 5:15AM, but rolled over and went back to sleep.  This afternoon I walked out my front door and discovered the largest parade I have seen since February passing by half a block from our front door.  I walked down and snapped a few images.

I realized the parade started (and later ended) at the church by the Flower Market a block from Calderon.  I walked over to the Don Colon restaurant and talked to the owner (Don Colon…) asking if he knew what the parade was about.  “Could be a wedding. Could be a divorce. Who knows? They celebrate everything with a parade here!”

We have often noted how we only find out about celebrations when they are under way around here.  We have asked several Cuencanos about it, and always get a shrug and a statement that they don’t know either.  Here was one more example of a local not knowing what was going on literally next door to him…

This particular parade took up three blocks, and consisted of six different bands playing.  They all played the same music at the same time, so at least it wasn’t a cacophony, but did make it rather loud…

The parade also had a couple of floats, and horses, and people dancing, and marching with banners (that appeared to be celebrating the Pope?).  At the end was the traditional Child Jesus statue, carried by 16 military officers, which was followed by perhaps a hundred other military men in uniform. 

That statue gave the clue to the true meaning of the parade.  Each church has a celebration on its “Saint’s Day,” which is the day set aside for the saint the church was named after. On that day, they parade their Child Jesus statue around town.  Apparently, this was their day.  Indeed, upon further research, I found it was in celebration so “Virgen del Carmen de la Asunción.”

Photo Galleries

At the top of this page is a menu that will take you to a variety of galleries showing our favorite images.