The band was playing rather melancholy songs. Not sure why but perhaps because Lent is a time of sacrifice and a period of preparation of the believers for Holy Week.
People who live along the road put crosses outside their door or tables with palm leaves. One little girl was dressed up in flowing gowns with a halo above her head. And we are talking 6:50 AM…
On Ash Wednesday we saw a lot of Nicas walking around with ash crosses on their forehead and at night there was another procession going down Calzada but we didn’t have time to catch it since we were meeting J at a restaurant to say our Farewells. He was going back to Seattle the next day.
At any rate, Semana Santa is going to be a BIG week. I can already feel it.
But I mentioned the Poetry Festival and that was an amazing week. More than 130 poets from 50 countries came to Granada to regale the Nicaraguans with their art. Nicas LOVE poetry. People from all walks of life gathered to hear the artists recite their work. One day the poets were going down the traditional “parade route” in town and stopped on every street corner to recite poetry. Complete with platform, microphone and translator. Now, I always say that something gets lost in translation and that’s certainly true for poetry. But nonetheless, one gets a feeling of what the artist is trying to convey.
We saw Gioconda Belli, one of the most famous Nicaraguan poets, a former Sandinista now living in California. We had read her autobiography, so Paul raced home and got the book for her to sign. We hope J&M don't mind since we borrowed the book from them.
The parade was preceded by the poetic carnival complete with funeral procession. The theme of the carnival was “Burial of the miseries and poverty of the soul” with the slogan of “Poetry is the realm of imagination and the most happy and painful testimony of human beings on earth."Groups from all over Nicaragua were present to showcase their dances and customs from their region. They were in beautiful folklore costumes. However, there were also numerous folks with black faces, devil's masks or skeletons with other fear-inducing props (known as "Ahuizotes") that roamed the streets dragging their chains and chasing after unassuming bystanders. The people who got caught were roped in those chains and moved across the promenade surrounded by their captors and accompanied by yelling and screaming. It was quite the sight.
One time the group moved toward my husband and we stopped breathing. But they only wanted to show him that the doll baby one of the guys was carrying had the same bald head as Paul. They love pelones down here.
This parade was the best parade we have seen in town. It even topped the carnival back in August.
Every day of the poetry week ended with a concert. We listened to two of them from the comforts of our home since they were being held within ear shot and attended two others. One of them was Norma Elena Gadea who was quite spectacular.
The week culminated in a concert on Parque Central showcasing Carlos Mejía Godoy who is also mentioned in Gioconda's autobiography. He was truly amazing and he and his band members made beautiful music. What a wonderful finale to a week of fun.
