Chota Fest 2010

"The things that happened could only have happened during a fiesta. Everything became quite unreal finally and it seemed as though nothing could have any consequences. It seemed out of place to think of consequences during the fiesta."

The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway

by Alisha

Our town's annual party (also known as the Feria Internacional San Juan Bautista de Chota or La Fiesta Brava) was held last week. Thousands of people come to Chota from the surrounding areas and throughout Peru. Many people who grew up in Chota or have family from the area return to celebrate the fiesta and reconnect with their roots. This year we met several groups of North Americans with family ties to the area who came back to Chota for the fiesta. Like last year, the town party included a Marinera dance competition, fire works, exhibitions of traditional foods and local artisan products, a beauty pageant (reinas campesinas), concerts, dances, and, most importantly, bullfights.



Several other Peace Corps volunteers made the trip to Chota for the fiesta (pictured above: our friends Elizabeth and Nicole). We took a trip out to a rock forest one morning to check out the strange rock formations that cover a field about an hour outside of town. The rocks have been shaped over the years by rain and wind. Our host family's dog, Tobby, came along for the ride and had his first experience riding in the back of a truck.

Micah and our host sister, Nicole, enjoying the afternoon at San Juan Pampa

The town party includes two days of activities at San Juan Pampa (San Juan field) which can be best described as a fair. Thousands of people congregate to watch moto-cross, horse riding competitions, the beauty pageant, the corrida de bufas (imagine guys dressed up as clowns running around a rink with very small/tame bulls and the comedy that may ensue). Generally, people go to eat, drink, and be merry.

Food vendors set up shop by tenting off a space and by cooking fried pork and cuy (guinea pig). Typically, each stand is complete with an enormous, freshly killed pig, that meat is cut from throughout the day. The cuyes are also butchered on site. The fresh meat is then cooked over an open flame.

People arrive early to find a spot on one of the hills surrounding San Juan Pampa.

Pictured above: Alfonso de Lima (Peru) and below: Hérnan Ruiz "El Gino" (Colombia)

The three Spaniards from left to right: Alejandro Esplá, Sanchéz Vara, and Juan José Padilla

"'Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters.'"
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway

The main attraction of the fiesta in Chota are the bullfights, and the stadium in town seats around 12,000 people. This year five bullfighters from Spain, Peru, and Columbia participated in the three days of Spanish-style bullfighting. Chota is known as the capital of bullfighting in Northern Peru, and outside of Acho (the bullfighting stadium in Lima), Chota is said to have the best bullfights in the country. Last year, Micah and I went to one day of the bullfights. It was a shocking experience and one that I did not plan to repeat. However, this year Micah and I attended all three days of the bullfights. It is difficult to explain, but I found myself appreciating most aspects of the bullfights this year. The fiesta was a very good final exclamation mark to (almost) end our time in Chota. We had a great deal of fun and were able to spend a lot of time with our host family and some of our Peace Corps friends, which is something that we appreciated, since we don't have much time left in Peru.

The Wall

by Alisha

A few months ago I took some pictures looking out of a window on the third floor of our host family's house. Here are the views I captured:

We recently returned from a trip to Lima and instead of the picturesque views from the same window we found this:


The house next door has been under construction for quite some time and it appears the neighbors decided to put another floor on the house. They literally put a brick wall about three inches from our window. When I asked our host mom about it all she could do was shake her head since our window is technically in violation of some kind of code that prohibits windows that face neighboring homes. Only in Peru!

Camp ALMA

by Alisha

This past weekend the volunteers in my department of Cajamarca put on Camp ALMA (Actividades de Liderazgo para Mujeres Adolescentes/Leadership Activities for Young Women). Volunteers from all over the department had the opportunity to bring youth from their communities to participate in the event.


I was one of the primary coordinators of the event, so from writing the grant and coordinating the activities for the weekend, it has been a busy couple of months. I'm happy to say that the weekend went really well and the participants had really positive things to say about the camp. The girls participated in activities focused on leadership, such as creative thinking, building teamwork, and presentation skills. Another large component of the camp are sessions led by local professionals that focus on health and career planning. The close of the camp was really bittersweet for us. With just over a month left in Peru, this event was the last large event that Micah and I will be involved with, and the realization that we will soon be saying final goodbyes to the youth we have made special connections with was really overwhelming.
Volunteers participating in one of the team-building activities

The only photo I got with the girls that Micah and I brought from Chota.