Photos

On the first day of the month-long fiesta in Huamachuco, the gallardeta (pennant) is raised, in a big ceremony with much music, much dancing, and the consumption of much beer and chicha! I went to the more private party where they unveiled the gallardeta for the year (the pole had been brought in and painted that morning), and then we brought it outside and paraded it around the Plaza d'Armas (main square) before beginning the long processs of attaching it to the pole (which was a rather short 31m tall this year) and then raising it in a slow, complicated process, involving many ropes and many more men (only once did it almost fall. I was at a safe distance when that happened, but apparently it has fallen and killed people in past years). It got to this stage pretty quickly, but it was probably at least half an hour, perhaps even an hour, from when the gallardeta was first attached to the pole to when the pole was in its full upright position. And there it stayes for a month, becoming the symbol of the fiesta, with many events taking place in the plaza, several parades marching past it, and one hell of a party on the eve of the principal day!

Y un poco en español (disculpe por no escribe mas. Mi español es todovia horrible, y es muy dificil a escriber in español para mi):

En la primera dia de la fiesta en Huamachuco (la fiesta es una mes en durante). La gallardeta es hace arriba por todo la dia. Aqui, es en lamedio de la proceso, y la proceso tiene mucho durante y es muy complicado (¡y un poco peligroso!). ¡Pero es mucho divertiso a mira!