Cuenca Independence Day #3

The 2016 Cuenca Independence Day blog concludes with a look at the annual soap box derby.  This race always starts on Calle Larga, just a little over a block from our apartment.  The contestants race down this gently sloped road for 4 blocks, then down a steeper incline for 2 blocks, make a high speed left turn onto 12 de Abril, and continue another half dozen blocks to the finish line.  This is our third time seeing this race.

Today it was raining lightly, which added an element of slippery risk to the race, and the umbrellas came out. The race went on as scheduled (well… as close to “on schedule” as anything in Ecuador is…).  After several heats of car racers, a group of four men in drag, plus one dressed as a Cardinal ran on foot behind them.  I have never understood the significance of that last group, but they have been the trailing act for every race I’ve seen to date. (Two prior races were reported here and here)

I started watching the audience who were also patiently waiting for the start of the race.  One family with four kids was clowning around and started hamming it up when they saw my camera (middle row). The parents, clearly enjoying themselves with their kids, beamed when the lens turned towards their family.  Just before the race started, a group of three mimes came along, and toyed with the audience, accepting tips in an open hat to have their photos taken.  They were good enough that I anteed up a bit to enjoy the fun.

Arts and crafts were being sold throughout the city during the three day Independence Day celebration.  Many were under city-supplied white tents to provide protection from the sun and occasional rain.  Others were in the open, such as the market at the Broken Bridge.  There were literally hundreds of such tents and this year (more than in prior years), there appeared to be more “crafts” and lower quality art than in years before.

The Broken Bridge (all of the above block) was probably my favorite area this year, with some better art work and some pleasant music being played by street musicians (lower middle and lower right). We stayed away from the battle of bands throughout the city, as the music there is extremely loud and distorted, with little focus on quality. This year, the higher quality art  and food booths were concentrated around the Pumapunga Museum, the Mercadito behind the Todos Santos church, and the plaza next to the Catedral Nueva across from Parque Calderon.

I recorded this one song at the Broken Bridge, as a reminder of the pleasant afternoon.