It is the evening of Thanksgiving, and if I were in the US, I would likely be looking at the ads for weekend shopping or making a turkey sandwich, but instead I am sitting in my house listening to loud booms of fireworks and hearing the distant sound of oompa music.
For those of you who have been with me more than a year, La Purisima will sound familiar, but for other let me just say that the Purity refers to Mary, and the next week and a half is filled with celebration of her.
I just found myself in a very surreal situation, although most of what I experienced is very common in this culture. Still to find myself in the midst of a religious celebration in a foreign country is pretty amazing in its commonness and complexity at the same time.
Until we move into our new place, the nightly ritual is to take the car every night to park in the paid for “lot”. I use the word lot loosely because really it is a driveway that opens to a wide spot behind a gate where all the extended family of Larry live. In order for us to park each night, they have to move their business, a hot dog stand, five feet to the left.
Tonight I got to park the car, and by the sound of the music and fireworks, I knew I was in a race to get the car in before the procession hit. When I went outside I saw the distant life size figure of Mary swaying back and forth on the shoulders of eight men, and I knew I had a few minutes to park the car before I would once again need to practice patience.
I made it in time, and as I walked out, I ran into the neighborhood homeless man from Cuba who speaks a little bit of English and sounds like a Latin American version of the Swedish Chef. He is kind enough to help me with the gate most times I pick up or drop off the car, and in appreciation I usually give him a few cords to buy cigarettes. I am not pro cigarettes, but it is something he enjoys in this stuff-less life.
I stand next to Ramon as the procession of about 100 people walk at a quarter pace, mostly heads down. Of course when they see me in the midst they usually do a double take, but I am getting used to it. In this reverence for Mary, you have the float preceded by a little pick up with two 4 foot tall speaks blasting religious music in a falsetto voice, and a few ninas dressed up in angel costumes. The float is followed by a band of six; tuba, trumpet, drums, cymbals, trombone, and something else I can’t remember. They are playing equally as loud oompa music. Then about 50 feet back, three teenage boys have the job coveted by every boy and man in the world. They get to set off an explosive at 25 feet intervals.
What I hope you catch in this is that this is reverent to them. All of this is honoring something very important. In the next week they will add food, lights, decorated houses and trees, singers, games, banners and more fireworks to round out this time of celebration and it will culminate the our last night in this house. I think I am going to miss all this!