January 9 2014

Bull Fight, Baby Goat, Pizza Night

chenry 2014, January

It seems like every weekend there is some sort of celebration in little Cotacachi. Saturday night the music was so loud that it sounded like they were playing outside our bedroom window. They party until about 4 am. The sound carries easily through the hills just like it does over water. Sunday afternoon we could still hear the celebration going on so we decided to follow the sounds to investigate.

Turns out that a bullfight was taking place but with young bulls and young children. We learned that part of the culture of Ecuador involves kids and bulls in a ring together, but it’s not really a dangerous situation for either kid or animal. But they were having so much fun and it was exciting to watch!

Young kids and young bulls prance and dance around each other in the bull ring. The crowd cheers, gasps, and laughs. Nobody gets hurt and the audience fun factor is high.

There was what I would say was a close call when a young teenage boy fell on the ground and did not make it back to the safety of the fence in time. The young bull was butting the boy with his head. But his amigo came to his rescue and neither the boy nor the bull was injured. As you can see in the picture that follows, there is give and take as the boy challenges the bull, and the bull challenges the boy in return. The primary elements are a bull, a human, and a blanket instead of a cape. Missing are the spears that bring pain and suffering to the animal. Boys and girls all have a chance to tease and play with the young animals. Sometimes there are half a dozen children racing around a bull in the ring. There’s excitement, drama, fun, and a little anxiety because the bulls do have horns and some of the bulls are pretty feisty.

The whole atmosphere is like a carnival. Lots of food vendors and rides for the children. Everyone was having a wonderful time.

Bill bought some sort of sausage and various meats on a stick. But I decided to opt for roasted corn on a stick dipped in butter and then smothered in cheese. It was wonderful.

I have no idea what the goat on top of the car means. Maybe they raise goats and this is how they advertise?

It is hard to see in this pic but there is a bucket on the bottom left side. There was a man with a bucket of some sort of drink. He was trying to give us each a cup. Of course, I declined since I was not going to drink something that I had no idea what it was or where it came from. The man kept insisting that we try it without charge. Billy Boy finally gave in and tried it and said it was very good. However, I was still not going to try the unknown drink. Later we found out it is called:

Chicha (CHEE-chah)

Fermented maize or cassava drink. Traditionally, the corn was broken down by being chewed by whoever was making it. It’s frequently served street-side during festivals and holiday events. Yuk so glad I did not drink it! Certainly not what I want to try.

Earlier in the day, we saw this young girl and man riding their horses right down the middle of Leather Street. Behind them was a young unbridled horse that just followed along. It is not unusual to see horses in town. The girl does not look happy about the whole situation.

Baby Goat

A baby goat was born in the pasture behind our house. It is so friendly that it will come to you and let you pet it. In the pic, I was afraid to bend all the way down in fear that the mother would become angry and come after me. The little goat also began to eat my jeans. My little granddaughter has named the baby “hungry boo”. A few days later Bill was walking down the path and ‘hungry boo” just started to follow him like a little dog. He had to be shooed back to his mother.