Yunza

You will never guess what we did over the weekend. It was so bizarre that writing out a multiple choice question to be answered would be similar to playing the game Balderdash...you would think I was making it up. So I will flat out tell you what we did. We attended a Yunza festival.

Yunza...whats a yunza? This was my exact question when I was told that I would be attending one. I can not fathom a way to explain it so I will give everyone the luxury of reading our hourish by hourish headlines of the day.

People log: Gladys-Host Mom, Lucho-Host dad, Enrique-Host son

Saturday 27 Feburary
4.30 (a.m.) Sara wakes up from the noise of neighbors fleeing Ilo.
6.00 Matthew wakes up from horn honking bread man.
8.00 Everyone eats breakfast wearing their ugliest clothes.
8.02 Sara yells at Matthew for eating too much bread.
9ish Running a bit late, we catch a taxi to travel to Lucho's work to meet the rest of the Yunza fiesta gang (all of Lucho's co-workers).
10ish A bus arrives, it looks like a 70's party bus with flowers on the side. We load it up with people, food and beer. Sara's head rest is broken.
10.30 While riding the bus the back of our seat falls apart, we nearly fall through.



Paprika!
11ish..or something We arrive in Ica to batches of bright orarnge squares which we later learn are sun drying preprika. Greeting us at the house of Yunza are several goats (one that tries to bite us arriving passenters), some sheep, and a pair of friendly turkeys.
Times from here on are estimated due to activities that follow
11.30 Some men depart to find a tree while Sara and I blow up balloons and make some water balloons. Two women dig a big hole.

11.50ish The men return with a freshly-chopped tree and I launch a water Balloon at Enrique. Balloons, streamers and gifts are tied to the tree.
12.10 The dragged in, cut down tree is re-planted in the hole.

Lucho re-planting the tree
12.12 A water war breaks out, their are no survivors.
12.13 Beer is opened, with one cup that is passed around. These are 675ml bottles. War continues, kids fling water balloons in every direction while adults walk stealthily with buckets of water.
12.24 Sara is attacked from behind by one of these stealthy adult, she runs towards me but slips in the mud, I douce her with ice cold water. We are both dripping wet.
1.15 War intermission for corn and cheese (chichlo con queso) and more beer opening.
2.00 War continues, bottle passing continues.
2.11 A soccer match is organized in a nearby basketball/soccer field. I scored 2 goals.
3.30 We all return to eat a massive lunch of rice, potatos, salad, beer, soda and chicken. Sara was determined to eat the whole thing.
4.00 Sara ate the whole thing.
4.08 People start dancing around the re-planted tree and a dizzy ring of dancers is formed. Several bottles are bassed around the spinning ring of dancers. The ring is centered around the tree and an ax.
4.09 Streamers tied around the neck and arms are added to the spinning dancers.
Gladys and Sara drinking and dancing and spinning around the tree

4.11 Spinning, dancing, drinking and chopping at the tree continue.
4.15 Purple skin paint is added to the spinning, dancing, drinking, and chopping.
4.20 The axe is passed form person to person, spinning drinking and chopping continue.
4.27 The tree is whittled down chop by chop, person by person.
Timber!!!

4.43 A man whacks the tree and it slowly crashes to the ground(he must host the party next year because he is the one who fell the tree). Kids flock to the tree to snach the prizes tied to its branches.
4.45 War starts again. Sara and I get soaked after our clothes finally dried from the morning.
4.52 Somewhere in the mix Sara is drenched with mud, her white shirt is now a fashionable color of brown.
She looks so pretty!

5.12 Clean up begins.
5.48 We climb back on our 70's bus, with more people. Bottles are passed around, even to the bus driver (he refused).
6.01 We find a fellow dancer whose car broke down on the way home. We are now a 70's bus towing a car.
7.55ish We arrive home.

So a Yunza is a festival where you gather a lot of people, cut down a tree, pass around drinks, re-plant the tree, eat a lot of food, and take turns re-cutting down the tree. Now you know.

Some facts and odd occurences unrelated to Yunza that I would like to share with the world:
1. I saw a hat for sale that said "St. Louis Zoo" on it.
2. We purchased some peanut butter from the market and it was made in Skokie Illinois, where my grandfather lives.
3. I can now complete the rubics cube in just 2min 26 seconds!
4. Sara saw a shirt for sale that said "Ohio State" on it.

Camera Update (Yes, there is more): It broke again and I think for good unless we order the part...I am very frustrated.