Is it war? Is it a party?

*CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE A GALLERY OF STILL IMAGES

This made me feel like a parent. But last weekend, I stumbled upon the most reckless fireworks display that I have ever seen. I still have no idea what they were celebrating. It had something to do with the CDAP museum in Cuenca, I think. I was walking along calle larga, enjoying my shwarma and I heard a brass band playing by the river, so I followed the sound. There were people sitting on the stairs (there’s a large staircase that leads maybe 50 feet down to the river) and some sort of 30-ft. tall bamboo tower with pinwheels and other stuff on it. Some dude was shooting off fireworks from a bridge as people walked by. When I got down to the river level, one firework tilted off axis and came straight down the bridge, right at me and some other people, and rained sparks on us. The pyro guy was unfazed. This was just the beginning.

So to celebrate this enigmatic holiday, amongst other things, the pyro-company people danced around with large paper mache “vaca locas” that celebrate the time-honored custom of shooting explosives at bystanders when they aren’t looking or expecting it. Watch the first video to see a good example. They also made these airplanes that were strung along steel cables that, when they ignited the fireworks, would shoot across the river and then drop sparks on some poor dudes car that parked in the wrong spot. During all this, the fire department came (they wear red camo, its hilarious), picked up some guy that fell and hurt himself, put him in to the back of their Ford Windstar that had been converted in to an “ambulance” and left before everything was burnt up. I don’t think I even saw a cup of water anywhere. And the brass band played the whole time. It was interesting, fun and unnerving all at the same time. And, oddly enough, nearly everyone walked way… Enjoy the pictures and videos.

VIDEOS

video management, video solution, video streaming

video management, video solution, video streaming

video management, video solution, video streaming