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Billy, Kate & Will in Perú

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fireworks

Party in Urubamba

Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 Leave a Comment

Tonight Billy and I walked down to the main square in Urubamba, where we are staying with a team from Dearborn and North Carolina, to a little cafe for a chance to hang out and a little quiet time away from work teams. On our way to the cafe, we were sidetracked by the crowd that was growing in the main square of Urubamba. After stopping to ask what was going on, we found out that in about 20 minutes, there were going to be fireworks and a band playing to celebrate some sort of festival in the town.

Well, as it is Peru, 20 minutes quickly turned into 2 hours before the fireworks actually started. The firework show we saw tonight would never have been allowed to happen in the States.

The night began with 7  papier-mache bull heads with fireworks loaded on top of them. Each bull head had one person underneath it who ran through the street while the fireworks were going off. We were sitting with the rest of the crowd, just 20 feet from the men running with the fireworks. Each bull started off with sparklers and various colored fireworks, and then quickly turned into shooting fireworks, which frequently landed into the crowd. It could have been described as firework roulette. Definitely not something that would ever happen in the States.

While it seems like the bulls would have been the main attraction, the biggest firework attraction was next. Instead of launching fireworks traditionally like we would do in the States, they had built a tower, or castillo, (castle) of fireworks which were lit one by one. Just as dangerous as the aforementioned bulls, the tower was not even 20 meters from where we were sitting on the steps of the church. Somebody lit the first fuse on the tower and it lit up the sky with shooting sparks and twirling colors. Shortly after lighting the first of six fuses, many little boys ran over to the fireworks and tower to play in the sparks and throw lit fuses and sparklers at each other, which was quite hilarious to watch.

After the firework finale, the band continued to play a few more selections that sound exactly alike and even ended with the same three note progression and people shot some other small fireworks into the sky.

It was a party in Urubamba!

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Billy, fireworks, parade, Peru, Scripture Union, Urubamba

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katebruder

When your uncle comes to visit, you wear your matc When your uncle comes to visit, you wear your matching shirts together (with a flashback to his last visit in January 2020) #littlewilliamnoah
Explored Arequipa, the white city, for the first t Explored Arequipa, the white city, for the first time all together and spent many hours outside under the blue sky. #littlewilliamnoah
The @monasteriodesantacatalina is one of my favori The @monasteriodesantacatalina is one of my favorite places in Peru. There is beauty around every corner and the colors, sillar streets and potted geraniums along the walls are just amazing. This trip we were able to visit as the sun was setting and see the former monastery in a new way. #littlewilliamnoah
Spent a few days outside under blue skies in the C Spent a few days outside under blue skies in the Colca Canyon #littlewilliamnoah
Just a small glimpse into what we did during July Just a small glimpse into what we did during July in 60 seconds #littlewilliamnoah
Celebrating Fiestas Patrias with dancing los capor Celebrating Fiestas Patrias with dancing los caporales 🇵🇪 #littlewilliamnoah
Ready to perform la danza de los caporales with hi Ready to perform la danza de los caporales with his classmates at @coloringdreamsperu to celebrate Fiestas Patrias 🇵🇪 #littlewilliamnoah
All of the people in these photos are now Peruvian All of the people in these photos are now Peruvian! When I first traveled to Peru in 2001 at 15 years old, I never expected that one day I would be a living here as a citizen. After 11 years of living in Lima, I have joined @wngreenman and @greenmanbilly with dual citizenship! 🇵🇪 🎉 🇵🇪 #littlewilliamnoah
We spent the morning with the llamas of @llamapack We spent the morning with the llamas of @llamapackproject and community partners from Cancha Cancha learning about how llamas are used for social development within local communities and to conserve and protect the environment in the Andes. #llamapackproject #littlewilliamnoah
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