Today was the 2nd annual Orquídea parade in Cuenca, which officially kicks off Carnaval. Last year was the first Cuenca Carnaval parade, but we were in Ambato for Carnaval and missed that one (see here for our post on the Ambato parade last year). When we first approached the parade starting area, we immediately saw […]
Godfather of Foam
Tonight was the 3rd annual Godfather’s Fiesta at Park Calderon (see our report from the 1st fiesta here). Basically, it is an excuse to buy cans of spray foam or silly string and spray everyone in sight. Don’t go near the park without taking your sense of childish delight with you on this night. That […]
New Year’s Eve 2015 – Monigotes
This year we decided to check out Salinas, on the coast of Ecuador, for New Year’s Eve. You can read our first blog, covering the actual NYE event here. This is an addendum post about the huge variety of monigotes or años viejos that we saw in town. These doll-like figures are made from paper-maché […]
New Year’s Eve 2015 – Salinas
After greeting the New Year for the past three years (2013, 2014, 2015) in Cuenca, we decided to see what Salinas had to offer, on the coast of Ecuador. As always, in our trips around Ecuador and the rest of South America, the results were both what we expected, and full of surprises. The monigotes […]
Niño Viajero 2015, Part 2
The annual Christmas Eve parade happened yesterday in Cuenca. See here for the first part of this blog post, covering the pre-parade activity. This part 2 shows some of what the actual parade was like. The parade was led by an angel on horseback. Mary and Joseph carrying a baby Jesus doll were common, as […]
Niño Viajero 2015, Part 1
Christmas Eve has a massive parade in Cuenca every year. You can see our blog and photos from prior years here — 2012, 2013, and 2014. In past years, we have photographed the preparations of the floats and participants. This year we decided to instead go to where the baby Jesus statue was being kept, […]
Independence Day, Cuenca 2015
Today is officially Independence Day in Cuenca, Ecuador, though the celebration has gone on for four days already. See our earlier post here and here for the start of the weekend. We started the day by taking the bus to Parque Paraiso, the largest public park in Cuenca, and one that we hesitate to admit […]
Day of Remembrance
Cuenca Independence Day weekend celebration continued today. There was a children’s puppet show at the base of the Escalinita steps next to CIDAP, and there were much more arts and crafts being displayed on closed city streets and plazas throughout the neighborhoods compared to prior years. We also attended a party for Día de los […]
Send In the Clowns
Halloween is not a big holiday in Cuenca. However, with more expats moving in and their kids grown up, the adults have gotten into the spirit of Halloween celebrations. This year, there were several Halloween parties held at local restaurants, as well as some private parties with people in costume. Evelyn went out earlier this […]
Art Expo Plus Outdoor Symphony
Saturday will officially kick off the Cuenca Independence celebrations. There are over 300 different events planned in town between now and Tuesday, the majority of which are free. Cuenca expects 100,000 visitors to come to town over the weekend, and this is in a city with a population of only 450,000, so things will almost […]
