Day 280: Cuenca, Ecuador
In many countries Three Kings Day celebrates the coming of the Three Wise Men. Here in Cuenca they recognize the holiday but have created an event that has nothing to do with it.
Today is a little bit like April Fools mixed with Halloween with a touch of carnaval. It starts off as a normal day but once night falls people dress up, pull pranks, all with the intention of amusement. The centerpiece of it all is the night parade.
University faculties compete with themes to make you laugh, often with parodies of the recent year. Such as:
Chilean miner rescue – and one wife’s discovery her husband had a mistress
Michael Jackson being ressurrected in Ecuador.
Private universities spent hours on elaborate entries and the most impressive was a humorous look at music with massive comedic tribute of popular music:
I love how some people don’t know a lick of English but can sing You shook me
all night long.
One entry that stood out didn’t make many people laugh the most but showed the danger of drilling for oil in the rainforest.
Unfortunately Ecuador depends on foreign countries to drill for oil and they had one of the world’s worst environmental disasters as it spilled oil, destroying wildlife and refused to clean it up.
If you haven’t seen the Yes Man campaign here’s the short and dirty version of it:
…deliberately dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater, spilled roughly 17 million gallons of crude oil, and left hazardous waste in hundreds of open pits dug out of the forest floor.
Texaco is back, under a new name, and it wants to drill in Yusuni, a very special part of the rainforest where many of the species haven’t even been documented.
How can Ecuadorians trust a company that already created such a gigantic disaster it’s being called
The Rainforest Chernobyl.
But this is on top of the minds of students, depicted by a bat with the well earned sign gringos chupa petroleo or petroleum sucking gringos.
It made me think about how we always want more money and think it will make our lives better, but what are we really jeopardizing?
What are we doing to poorer counties, tempting them with money, asking them to do things that are not in their best interest.
Forget international aid,
let’s just stop screwing them over.
Even if the systems that are supposed to protect these countries don’t and Chevron/Texaco gets away with sabotaging the trial. It’s heartening to see a movement to stop the destruction. They don’t have a lot but they know some things are more important than oil money.
It’s a lesson that rich countries should learn.
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I'm Ayngelina and in my mid-thirties. I left an amazing job, boyfriend, apartment and friends to find inspiration in Latin America. I'm creating a new life choosing what I want instead of what other people think I should do.
I’m generally not a fan of parades, but this is one cause I could get behind!
Camels & Chocolate recently posted..The New Year’s That Wasn’t- Part II
I hadn’t heard about the Texaco issue in Ecuador. No wonder they’re upset. Anyway, fantastic photos! Looks like an amazing parade.
LeslieTravel recently posted..Is Kim Kardashian graffiti a sign of the Apocalypse street art photo of the week
Ayngelina, wonderful photos and a great report on the situation in Ecuador.
I think you touched on a great point about the smaller countries that need the large companies for money, but routinely get screwed over. That alone is an enormous topic on socio-economics and social dependencies.
Keep up the killer work.
Justin Hamlin recently posted..Project 333- An Experiment in Minimalist Fashion
great post, it looks like a beautiful festival, its great that you highlighted the environmental issues
Looks like a cool parade, great photo’s!
Poi recently posted..The Stupid Things I Miss From Home
That’s crazy, I had no idea that they refused to clean up their dirty act – thanks for putting emphasis on this in the post!
I love these types of quirky events with political/ cultural commentary. My hometown has a few, and I always love discovering them in new places. When I was in Quito, I heard some mention of indigenous people currently fighting off oil companies, but I did not know the details. Thanks for bringing this to light.
Stephanie recently posted..The Cost of a Pound of Coffee
What a great looking parade. Love the “pig?”. Another case of the rich get rich and the poor get poorer!
What a cool thing to get to see. I totally agree, let’s stop screwing them over!
Laura recently posted..Hiking Ilha Grande- Brazil
Sometimes I wonder if “international aid” is really just an attempt to make the rich countries feel better have they have indeed screwed the poor ones over.
Claire recently posted..Bandwagon Jumper
It’s amazing how uninformed we are sometimes of things like this going on in the rest of the world. When I was traveling in South America, I was constantly amazed of the things my country was involved in that I knew nothing about. At least I knew that Lindsey Lohan was in rehab again though. Ahh, American media, gotta love it.
@Claire that would be giving them too much credit! Most aid is used to maintain foreign policy goals which are not in the interest of most recipient countries. Humanitarian assistance may be the one exception to this rule.
Todd | Todd’sWanderings recently posted..A Little Bit of Freedom- Travel Photo Contest Friday 33
I loooove parades, love the energy of them. What an interesting and unique parade!
Andi recently posted..Happy New Year!!!
This must be the weirdest parade in the whole wide world. Great shots you got here.
inka recently posted..Galicia’s dramatic Coast of Death
Crisis averted – seems your bloggers block is over! Thanks for sharing what looks like a very interesting event!
I love the Gene Simmons outfit with the extra toungue attached… classic
Cam recently posted..Photo Essay- The Magical Landscapes of Cappadocia- Turkey
You really get to see a lot girl. I guess Ecuador must be a lot different than Canada. Nice pictures by the way.
Thomas – IT Blog recently posted..My favorite WordPress plugins
Wow! Looks like an amazing time and for a great cause too! I’m no longer shocked and the blatant disregard and lack of concern “rich” countries and big business has for people and the environment. It’s sickening! Wake up people!
April Thompson recently posted..The Genographic Project — Where are you Really From
Thank you for bringing this to light. I wasn’t aware of it, myself. It’s so true that we can learn a lot from poorer countries. Maybe someday we will listen…
Christy – Ordinary Traveler recently posted..Guaguas in the DR and How to Avoid Being Overcharged 11
Oh my goodness! I’ve never seen Three Kings Day like that wowow!
Abby recently posted..Meet Spencer- as he learns the meaning of Pura Vida
Oh wow, never seen any of those parades and some of them look really interesting too. Sadly over here in Malaysia, we have the most nationalist parades… sigh…
David
David @ Malaysia Asia recently posted..Travel Contest January 2011 – RM16-500 in Prizes to be won!
Right on! I always marvel at the power of the “common people,” particularly in Latin America, to stand up to the profit-hungry corporations. And I’ve marched in my share of parades myself.
I loved reading about the parade and seeing all of the crazy pictures. I must say that of all the ways to celebrate on El Dia de Los Reyes, the residents of Cuenca get the prize for the most creative! It makes me curious about all of the events out there that happen on traditional holidays but have nothing to do with the holiday itself.
The parade is fascinating! It’s interesting to see how and why people celebrate different things around the world. And interesting how this parade shed light on some controversial things that are happening that many people don’t know about.
Jeremy B recently posted..Travel Tuesday question of the week – what’s your favorite source of travel information
Some issues are worth marching for. If we don’t we run the risk of companies being able to do anything they want. The public need to demonstrate their concern, so governments and companies work to better standards.
Viv la revolution!
Jim recently posted..Terror at the Red Terror Martyrs Memorial Museum- Ethiopia
Awesome pictures, its like I was right there with you! I wish we had sweet parades like that here – I wonder if anyone has ever attempted an Online Social Justice Parade? Everyone Tweets once per minute for an hour in protest of something. hmmm…would they hear our collective voice? Anyway – yours truly – a guilty petroleum sucking gringo.
James St. James recently posted..Three Awesome Things
I got to a local art car parade pretty much every year. Not changing the world, but always a great time! Good post!
Lola recently posted..10 Most Popular Dog Breeds in the United States
Haha
I wonder what the Three Wise Men and baby Jesus would think about the costumes.
Dina recently posted..Sunsets from around the world- part 2
Beautiful pictures. I like how Cuenca created a festival that looks so fun but Halloween like type of event. I know that looks like nothing to do with the three king days heehee
thank you to the artists* creating awareness! the truth is in art.
paz y amor
The thought of the Rainforest Chernobyl just makes my skin crawl.. It’s interesting that when you leave people to their own devices they come up with parade statements that make the most impact on them. Michael Jackson and rainforest damnation. I pray like you do that the rich stop screwing the poor.
ciki recently posted..Interview with Chef Edwin Yau
Awesome post, Ayngelina. Had no idea this happened. Thought parades were supposed to be all happiness and celebration, love seeing them being used for something noncommercial!
Candice recently posted..The Art of Non-Conformity Comes to St John’s
These are so much fun I can’t pick a favourite! Great photos you have here, they almost draw us into the parade…
Corinne @ Degustinations recently posted..Opera Bar- Sydney
If you asked me to look at these pics and guess where this was from the last place I would pic is Ecuador.. looks like you had a great time!
wanderingtrader recently posted..FIRST NIGHT OUT WITH CHILEANS part 1
These pics are fantastic.
Lauren Fritsky recently posted..When Disaster Hits Your Adopted Country
Our subjugation of countries still in the process of developing industry and trade is one of those often overlooked issues and topics – add in the environment into the mix and it’s a sad mixture. So glad you highlighted this Ayngelina.
Great post, when are major news corps going to report this stuff? I feel for these poor people.
Ryan recently posted..David Dunbar Buick
Interesting parade and it is great they found a creative outlet for their frustration. Just wish it did something to stop the wrecking of the environment.
Ted Nelson recently posted..Travel Tuesday photo of the week- snowy woods
HAHAHAHA “Michael Jackson being ressurrected in Ecuador”… awesome. Your sense of humor is coming out more and more lately… I love it!
Lindsay aka @_thetraveller_ recently posted..Interview With the Boys from Trourist
Thanks for making us all more aware of what is really going on in the world!The pictures of the parade are wonderful!!You can almost feel the excitement!!!
YES! “Forget the international aid, let’s just stop screwing them over” love that. the photos here are gorgeous too and love the cultural lesson. and the title?! LOL!
Lorna – the roamantics recently posted..Squatting in Sihanoukville- Cambodia
Yes Men was a real eye-opener. Corporations suck.
Roy recently posted..Sagittarians Are So Last Year
I had never heard of the damage done in the Ecuadorian rainforest and had a look at the website. What they did totally sucks and then trying to get out of cleaning up???
Why did this not get the same press coverage as the BP spill in the Gulf? Politics at work and cover-ups?
Sadly, Ecuador is not alone when it come to big companies causing major environmental issues. In an ideal world countries would put the environment first and the dollars second. Let’s face it, it’s all about money.
Nancie recently posted..Penang’s Georgetown– A Budget Travelers Dream Town
It makes me angry reading about the petroleum deal, but I also see it form another point of view. Yes the gringo companies are bad, they don’t give a shit, it’s al about the money, but what really makes me angry is the corrupt government…
I’m sure that they get there share and they don’t care about what’s going to happen to their country, their people and their future… I’m sure that Ecuador too has laws to protect the environment and has signed international treaties…
I just can get so mad at politics… why don’t they care?
Well the somewhat good news out of all of this is that Chevron was just ordered to pay 17 billion in fines but who knows if they will actually pay that amount.