Feliz año nuevo

Happy New Year, everyone! 2010 was a year divided between three countries for me: January-mid May in Chile; late May-September in the US; and then October-December in Ecuador. Chile was my first summer of 2010, and I got into my English teaching groove. My second summer in the US was nice too because I got to spend more time with friends and family, and I got to meet Liam and Nora who considerably spiced up my summer (if you are still checking in on the blog, hola chicos! I hope the whole fam is doing well). Ecuador has been a multi-seasoned, whirlwind way to finish the year with lots of travel within the country, intense classes, and visits from my fam and Alvaro.

The new years celebrations in Ecuador are considerably different from Chile, where I spent my 2007-8 and 2009-10 new years. In both countries, new years is a very familiar moment- most people have late dinners with their families, spend the midnight countdown with their families, and then go out with their friends later. In Valparaíso, there are amazing fireworks that light up the entire coastline and everyone is in the streets, scrambling to find the best viewpoint. Here in Quito there weren't any municipally organized fireworks, and the streets really weren't full in the evening, which I found kind of bizarre. I imagine that around midnight people were still indoors with their families, because later in the evening the streets livened up a bit.

Alvaro and I organized a dinner with another gringa friend and her visiting family, and another friend came over too. We ate dinner (and my successful toaster oven brownies!) and then took a walk to take in the events. The most iconic part of Ecuadorian new years is the burning of effigies that represent the año viejo, the old year. These effigies are really interesting- they're made by hand, and people sometimes purchase separate masks to put on them as well. Street corners were full of them prior to new years, and there was even a competition earlier in the day for the best effigy. Sometimes they're made to look like political figures, or pop culture figures, or even just bosses or friends. Burning them can represent either burning the bad parts of the past years, or commemorating and celebrating the good moments. It's kind of complicated (does it represent something bad or good?), but definitely an interesting tradition.

The other visual tradition (at least in Quito) that I heard about and noticed is an even more bizarre practice. Men will sometimes dress as women, specifically viudas, or widows. These women supposedly were married to the año viejo, and with the changing of the year, they are left widowed. The men beg for money dressed as women, and then use the money for (what else?) booze later in the night. Sometimes they rope off roads so you can't get by without paying!

We all took a walk and saw lots of año viejo effigies being burnt and a few of the widows walking around as well. We settled in a bar for a pre-new years drink, and then before midnight we got up and went to one of the principal plazas. There, people were tossing effigies (usually about the size of scarecrows) into a big pile and circling around it. At midnight, they lit the whole pile on fire, and then some people (the drunkest ones, presumably) even jumped over it with the flames and everything! We brought a bottle of champagne and toasted the new years as my gringa friend's dad and brother sang a rousing rendition of auld lang syne. Alvi and I bought some fireworks (likely illegal in the US, I swear it's a miracle that Ecuador's cities don't burn to the ground during major festivities) and he set off some in the plaza while I enjoyed 6 sparklers for 50 cents. Later I met up with a University classmate and we went to a party for a bit.

All in all, it was a nice way to bring closure to 2010 and ring in 2011. I hope that 2011 is full of friends, old and new, and family when I'm back in the US (all are welcome to visit here too!). May 2011 be a good year for everyone! abrazos y besos