Parties and Puppies!

     Hello friends!  Its about that two week mark when I have to update my blog again.  The World Cup started up last week, and almost everyone in my town watches it religiously.  We don't have a TV that works in my house so I haven't kept up with it, but that's ok because I'm not a huge soccer fan anyways.  I did get together with some other PCVs at a local bar/casino to watch the US vs. Ghana game though, which was fun!  Other than that I just catch it whenever I hang out in the teachers lounge.      Last Thursday, June 19, the town celebrated Corpus Christi, a very famous religious holiday for the Paritanians.  For this festival, the town made these beautiful "alfombras" or carpets made out of flowers on the street.  They outlined the picture first in chalk then filled it in with flower petals and colored salt.  I was really disappointed that I didn't get to see it...due to some miscommunication I thought that the alfombra would be on display all day but it was gone by 12 p.m. and I was working in the school up until that point.  I will definitely make the time to see it next year though, because the pictures that I saw of it were incredible.
     The Paritanians love their festivities, and are celebrating Corpus Christi for the next 2 weeks!  According to Wikipedia, Corpus Christi is "a Latin Rite liturgical solemnity celebrating the tradition and belief in the body and blood of Jesus Christ."  It's a big deal here and the Paritanians have long performances during the weekend called "Diablicos Sucios" and "Diablicos Limpios" where they dress up in elaborate costumes and paper mache masks and dance.  Diablicos Sucios (or "Dirty Devils") came to Parita back when the Spanish colonizers conquered the Azuero region.  My friend explained to me that because the Spaniards and indigenous people couldn't communicate verbally, the Spaniards dressed up as devils and danced around to scare the indigenous population into compliance.  If it sounds horrible, that's because it is.  But this tradition was born from that, and now it's a big part of Parita's cultural heritage.  Here is a picture of me with a friend dressed up as a "Diablico Sucio"

     This is what a "Diablo Sucio" looks like.  Typically, they wear suits with red and black stripes to represent the fire and darkness of hell, but the costume has evolved over the years.  They're called "dirty" because they jump around erratically as part of the dance and sweat, hence the name "dirty."  They also carry an inflated pigs bladder that they tie on a string and use it to beat the ground.  I'm not really sure what the significance is but it  definitely adds to the craziness of it all.  For this dance, the masks are usually made to look like a devil of some sorts.  This one is a devil with a skull above it!   I actually got to meet the mad who made these masks, Dario Lopez.  He is a local artist and does an incredible job making these, he even let me help out one day!  I might be working with him in the future to expand his business to attract English speaking customers.  Here's a picture of my friend dancing the Diablico Sucio, and you can see in his right hand he has the inflated pig bladder.

     "Diablicos Limpios" or "Clean Devils" have a different costume and dance.  Their clothes are brighter and more colorful, and their masks depict animals as opposed to devils.  In this performance, the dance is more of a group effort and it depicts a fight between devils and angels, and in the end the angel kills the devil so he can't tempt humans any more.   Here is a picture of some of my students and friends dressed up as Diablicos Limpios:

     The Paritanians also reenact the story of how the Spanish conquerer Hernan Cortes defeated Montezuma and brought down the Aztec empire.  My friends participated in the play, one as Hernan Cortes and the other as the captain of his army.  Here they are mid performance: 

     The festival was held this weekend and will continue next weekend, so i'll probably have more pictures to post for my next update.  

     In other news, I have 7 new additions to my family!  On Sunday morning my host mom told me that a stray dog had had puppies in the abandoned lot next door!  At first I couldn't see the mother and I was worried that she had abandoned her puppies, so I went looking to find a way into the yard.  While I was trying to see if I could climb the fence, I saw the mother on our side looking for food.  So I followed her and found that where the fence ended on the other side of our house was replaced with a tin slab that had been pushed aside so that the dog could get in and out.  She had given birth under a bush next door to 6 puppies: 3 white with black spots (2 male, 1 female), 2 brown/black/white (1 male, 1 female) and 1 black with white (male).  They are all adorable and seemingly healthy!  The dog is such an incredible mother too.  I was told to be careful because she is aggressive, but I haven't had the slightest indication of that.  She is timid because she lives on the street, but she lets me pick up her puppies and hold them and has not once showed signs of aggression.  She is such a good dog, I want to try to take care of her after her puppies have gone.  I've been told though that she is the community dog and everyone gives her food.  She looks healthy enough but I want to get her fixed, her whole body just sags because she has had so many puppies.  Here is a picture of her with all of her puppies: 

     The bush that she had given birth under didn't provide much shelter, so I fixed up this little shelter for her with a water bucket and some food.  It's not too bad if I don't say so myself:

     Here I am with a lap full of puppies!!  They're only 2 days old here so they all fit!  I'm really trying hard not to get too attached, but I don't know how well that's going to go....I haven't named them yet which is a good sign, but that might not last too much longer.  

     Here are all the puppies together on the ground!  They're really beautiful dogs, and their mother is a really interesting mix.  Surprisingly, none of the puppies really look like her with all of her spots.  I'm starting to promote these puppies amongst my friends to try to find good homes for them.  I already know two people who are interested, so that's a good start!

     They're so tiny that they can fit in my hand!  They hardly ever make noise either, so I think that means they're happy and healthy :)

     

     I was trying to put off getting a dog for as long as I could, and was seriously considering not getting one at all.  Having a dog is a huge responsibility and really complicates life and my ability to travel.  This was just such an unexpected surprise!  But since their arrival I have been so much happier, I think I just needed something to love and take care of...and now I have 7 dogs to share that with!  I will definitely keep taking pictures of them as they get bigger, more news and pics to come in 2 weeks!