We are staying in the Douro Valley today, and our host told us that there is an annual festival this weekend in Penedono, a nearby town with a castle. We decided to check it out. In Northern California, we have the Renaissance Fair every summer. This is very much like that, but only lasts the first […]
Portugal 1 – Festival of St John of Porto
We arranged to come to Porto, Portugal in time for the annual street festival paying tribute to St John the Baptist (Festa de São João do Porto). This lively party has been held every year for the past six centuries (starting the afternoon of June 23rd and ending the sometime on the 24th), and is considered the city’s most […]
Gualaceo Carnaval 2017
Vendors were selling food, cans of foam, and hats (including umbrella hats) Carnaval has traditionally been celebrated in various towns outside of Cuenca, so we decided to check out the Sunday parade in Gualaceo, about 45 minutes away. The parade was much larger than Cuenca’s, with some elaborate floats, performances by dance groups. There were […]
Cuenca Carnaval – Orquídea Parade 2017
Orquídea Cuenca 2017 was dominated by dancing and foam (from Burt Johnson on Vimeo). During our first Cuenca Carnaval in 2012, the city was practically deserted. In those days, Carnaval in Cuenca consisted solely of roving kids with squirt guns and occasional buckets of water from balconies overhead in El Centro. More events have been […]
Day of the Innocents Masquerade Parade 2017
Every January 6, Cuenca celebrates the Day of the Innocents with a parade that combines satire, political and social commentary. It is variously called the Fools Parade, Inocentes Parade, or Masquerades Parade. This was originally a religious event commemorating King Herod’s death sentence for all new-born boys after the birth of Christ, though Cuenca’s version […]
Subdued New Year’s Eve in Cuenca
As usual, politicians were mocked throughout the large neighborhood dioramas. Clinton, Obama and Trump were all represented from the States, plus an assortment of Ecuadorian political figures. This was our fifth New Year’s Eve in Ecuador. Except for 2015 in Salinas, we have spent each of them in Cuenca. Our first was at the end […]
Pase del Niño Parade 2016
Peter Dudar, a gringo expat actively involved with various Ecuadorean charitable causes, led the parade as one of the Three Kings The Christmas Eve el Pase del Niño (the passing of the child) parade is claimed by its organizers to be the largest in all of Latin America. This year, at least 100,000 people lined […]
Festival of Lights
Last night was the Festival of Lights (Festival de Luces) at Santo Domingo Plaza in Cuenca. This is an annual event, honoring Our Lady of the Rosary. However, in past years, we always heard about it after the event. This was the first year we learned about the event in time to attend. The schedule […]
Orchid Wall 2016
The Orchid Wall flower show is on display this weekend, running through Sunday, November 27 at the Casa de la Provincia, on the edge of Parque San Blas. As I write this, the show still has one day for you to catch it. If you like flowers, and orchids in particular, you should set aside […]
House Concert – The Charango and Estefani
Tonight was another House Concert from Colibri Conciertos, which are hosted in private homes or boutique hotels in Cuenca. Mara Gano (lower right) organizes these special monthly events featuring talented local (and frequently world-class) concert musicians. This month, 30 guests were invited to the home of Greg and Charlene Redenbacher. Guests were treated to hear […]
