On the way to the parade: In my student's taxi, haha.
The walls and light of this apartment are so white! I look in the tiny mirror above our hallway sink and all I can see are the wrinkles that I’m getting from smiling and laughing in the sunshine. Why are we punished for doing the best things in the life? (I know, I know. Wrinkles are beautiful.)
In general, though, I am aware that I am older than I’ve ever been before. Mostly in good ways. For example, suddenly, miraculously, without my even noticing, I seem to have dumped a big (annoying) part of my personality (being insecure about expressing who I am). And I can only attribute that to age. So, thanks age!
I’m also older in less exciting ways. For example, on Sunday morning my roomates and I found ourselves on some curb up in north Barranquilla, watching the sky casually brighten at 6...7...8 o’clock in the morning. We had spent the previous hours at a gay parade, then terrorizing and charming a man who wanted to rob us, then in the street outside of La Troja, where we met this group of “bohemian” Barranquillan university friends. I love this bar, La Troja. Every time we go there, the crowd and the mood shifts. It’s a matter of situational perspective: if you stand 4 feet to the right, you’ll meet the group of doctors. 4 feet to the left, and you’re stuck with the drunk old childhood buddies wearing map shirts. And if you stand where we stood the other night, you meet graphic designers and musicians who stepped out of the pages of an Urban Outfitter’s catalogue. In a city where every other torso is encased in neon purple spandex (and I’m talking about the men who aren't wearing map shirts), this is a refreshing change.
Dancing and chatting, we American/”Brazilian” girls finally relaxed and made some friends. The robber had us on our guard, so we introduced ourselves with all sorts of stories that fell away slowly throughout the night. All the same, I was stuck speaking “Portuguese” because everyone in the world loves Brazil! It’s a wonderful thing to share with strangers. Imagine, being madly, un-covetously in love with a person and meeting people all around the world who also madly love that person! This is how loving Brazil feels. Later into the night, I sat in a taxi with a glamourous little ballerina man, eating piña (abacaxi ;) ) and singing homages to Rio in Portugues. And I felt the wholeness of the universe...haha. Don’t take that too seriously.
But the point is, after that night turned into the next morning, I was the one to decline our new friends’ invitation to go to the beach. I wanted to sleep! I never would have done that when I was 23....
The marimonda!
Also, it’s more Carnival then ever here. We were in the Guacherrna parade and I dressed as La Negrita Puloy. Now, I know that sounds weird to all of you who are not here in Barranquilla. But La Negrita (La Gringita?) is a beloved traditional character here, and it’s totally normal for everyone to dress up as whomever they want. What is interesting to me are the origins of these characters. In Trinidad, I spent a lot of time learning about the stories behind everything, the Moko Jumbies who use their stilts to walk back to Africa, the Dame Lorraine mocking the master’s wife. And the craft that goes into it all...the Pierrot Grenade “speechifies” and the Midnight Robber “robber talks”, and jab jab climbs up poles. Everyone has their dances, their art, and it’s necessary to dedicate yourself to learning that character and then to give yourself into playing it. It’s all very, very involved. I don’t know much about the characters here, but from what I’ve gathered, the Negrita Puloy is based on a brand of Venezuelan detergent from the ‘70s. And that’s about all the story I can find. Woah! I think it’s safe to say that Carnival comparisons are interesting, but, at least in this case, I shouldn't rely on them for historical perspective. Barranquilla’s carnival is young (maybe a century younger than Trinidad’s?), and I think it evolves constantly. It also seems to be more of a willy-nilly carnival...do what you want, be-costume yourself as you wish...I am intrigued.
Moko-jumbies?
In the meantime, I will uncritically dress up in this way and dance through the streets. Please forgive me. I did not chose the costume.
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