Peru Loves a Parade

We've all seen the "granddaddy of them all", the Pasadena Rose Parade on New Years Day. For many people, especially if you live in So Cal, this is the parade standard to which we've become accustomed. We also have our holiday parades, some large like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC and some small, like our hometown Fourth of July parades where kids ride their decorated bikes and pull festive wagons with costumed pets. Some are wild, like Mardi Gras, and others are more subdued, Memorial Day parades for instance. Whatever the parade, there are certain elements often included, such as floats, marching bands and equestrian units. Now that I've seen a few Peruvian parades, my own view of a typical parade has changed.  

For example, the first week we were here, Kiko and I were having lunch at a cafe in Miraflores. This cafe had no door, it was open to the bustling sidewalk and busy street. We starting hearing music, it was faint at first and kept getting louder and louder until it was actually right in front of the cafe. There were people walking in front of a large, slow-moving bus which was blaring the music. They were dressed in orange t-shirts with a large "K" on the front of them, the symbol of a presidential candidate named Keiko. As they threw orange visors and little notepads to business people, workers, and shoppers walking along the sidewalk, we realized that we were watching a campaign parade. This was a main street heading into rush hour, and the parade was slowing down the traffic, but people just went on with their business as if large orange buses blasting music were an everyday occurrence.

A few week's ago Kiko and I were walking the dogs at a large park near our apartment. We saw a group of about 10 children and 15 adults, and when we got closer to them, we heard their singing and chanting. They were young students with their teachers and a few parents making a parade for a cause. The children were wearing large posterboard signs hung with yarn around their necks, and the signs said things like "Support the arts for children". They also carried balloons, and shook plastic tambourines, but it was the middle of the day so there weren't many people out to see them. It looked like they were having a good time though.

Last week I was home by myself at around 7:30pm when I heard what sounded like trumpets coming from outside. It got progressively louder, so I looked out my window and saw a group of about 100 people walking very slowly down the middle of the street. Some folks carried signs and some carried flags of various countries (I saw the U.S., Argentina, Canada, Brazil). There were musicians playing a very melancholy tune, a few kids running around and some youth with their cell phones. The focus of the parade was on the statue of the Virgin Mary being carried by four men. They were walking in the middle of the pack, until the group came to a halt at the intersection of my street and the cross street. Then the statue carriers moved to the front of the parade. At this time I noticed a motorcycle police officer stopping traffic and making vehicles turn around, which was causing problems as this time of the evening is still hora punta (rush hour). In fact, as soon as the police officer wasn't looking, a taxi went through the intersection, narrowly missing a few participants, but that got the ball rolling and more cars went through, so the officer gave up and started directing traffic instead of stopping it. Someone with a bullhorn was giving a speech, then it sounded like the entire group was saying a prayer. Finally the men holding the statue started walking, and the rest of the group followed along behind, all very slowly. The parade blocked the entire street, and the cars behind them were now out of luck. There was honking from the cars trying to get through, and the melancholy song started up again. I'm not sure who was supposed to be reading the signs they were carrying because it was dark, and everyone passing by was probably just concerned with getting home.

When I was here a few years ago we were driving through a mining town and came upon a parade. Well, it was actually a protest, which is a type of parade anyway. The hundreds of workers from the mining company carried banners about their rights, and the police helped direct the vehicles trying to pass on the only road through town. During that trip I also experienced a cow parade, which really wasn't a parade at all, as the life-size plaster cows were stationed outdoors throughout Lima for a few months. It was more of an art festival, where different Peruvian artists painted a cow for display before ultimately being auctioned off for charity. I really enjoyed seeing this "parade" in the parks around the city, and found out that it's an international, ongoing event (check it out at http://www.cowparade.com/).

Maybe this summer you'll make plans to watch or participate in a parade. Here in Peru, you never know where, when, or what kind of parade will appear!