Ending 2013 in Salinas

Christmas in the Mall

We knew Christmas would be difficult for us: family 3,000 miles away, no familiar traditions - or even a flake of snow.  But this country makes me envious of the pure focus on family for those few holy days.  Although the stores have the same old Christmas tunes piping, and there are decorations, a huge tree and a Santa in the mall, it's all somehow low-key. We can see through windows that there are lights and decorations in the homes, but the town is not lit up like Vegas.  Still, there's a thrum of excitement and anticipation that comes from people hurrying about, chattering voices and - great to see - much emphasis on local charities reaching out to those without means.

Folks stocking up - basketful of turkeys!

Like quite a few other Gringo's, we headed to Big Ralph's, the local British restaurant (link) for a 'reservation only' Traditional English Luncheon on Christmas Day. No disappointment there - Ralph is a chef extraordinaire and the turkey and accompaniments were delectable.  "Main Course: Roast Turkey, Baby New Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables, Pork & Onion Stuffing, Thyme Sauce.
Dessert: Chocolate Torte with Ice Cream & Bailey´s Sauce".

Ninja Turtle Manigote

Manigotes for sale on street

Then we spent the next few days watching Salinas get ready for Año Viejo - Old Year. This country sees the old year out very thoroughly, much as you will see in some other older country traditions like Hogmanay in Scotland, for example.  And immediately after Christmas Day is done, getting ready to do so begins.

Immense Spiderman Manigote

Manigotes appear everywhere - paper mache (wet paper and starch) effigies - some huge, more than twice life size perhaps, reaching down from balconies; and some small, table-top size. Some were disturbingly real, most just surreal, but each represented toils, troubles and worries that would go up in smoke - literally - just before the stroke of midnight on December 31st.  And that would make way for a brand new, fresh and hope-filled new year.

Yep, this is a cop effegy - outside the cop shop!

What a great way to let go and look ahead with a bright heart.

We'd been told that this town of about 10,000 residents swells to a quarter of a million over the holidays, and that we would see at least 200,000 folks on the seafront Malecon that night. And so it began: the road was closed to traffic just in front of our condo at around 7 p.m. and families began to walk down the mile long beachfront. Fireworks - really good fireworks! - began all along the front at around 9 p.m. and we headed out with our own bottle of champagne in hand,  to be uncorked on the midnight stroke.

It was jam-packed on the street, even as early at 10 p.m.  And here is the truly remarkable thing: in this crowd, we did not espy a single police officer! And why not..?  We speculate because this celebration is a family event, at least up until the wee hours before dawn. Although there were a few beer-stands along the road, we saw little drinking and the only encounter we had as we squeezed our way down to the end of the Malecon was with a very 'happy' young man drinking Budweiser, who wanted to know how to pronounce the name in English - and couldn't stop welcoming us to his beloved country.  Mostly, just large families - all ages - from the cities and the towns and the hills, gathered together to see the end of 2013 and welcome in a new start.  Don't get me wrong - I'm sure there was a police presence of some kind, somewhere....but in a country where security of one type of another is high priority, and a big employer, and usually very visible, they were markedly unobtrusive.  And we felt no risk - which is even better.  We'd been told to leave any valuables home because of pick-pockets.  Maybe I'm naive, but no one we saw seemed interested in anything other than the event of the night.

Around 11 p.m. folks carried their manigotes to the beach, ready for the bonfires.  A couple of firetrucks were positioned along the road - the only cautionary measure we saw.  And the fireworks and firecrackers were unending...for miles.  The atmosphere was just electric - we walked amongst the families and listened to the laughter, the cheering, the excited voices and found ourselves at the same pitch.

Somehow we found a break in the crowd lining the beach, and stumbled down onto the sand, just in time for one of the manigote bonfires to be lit.  We hadn't expected these figures to be filled with firecrackers!  And another was ignited just behind us, and a 'donkey' filled with pyro alongside us. Can you imagine seeing the sky filled with fireworks, huge exploding bonfires end to end along the beach and folks cheering and pressing in so tightly our only escape was into the ocean? If that didn't scare the bejeebers out of the old year woes, nothing would!

And in came 2014, almost as an anti-climax as folks quietly reflected on their troubles going up in smoke.

We uncorked our bubbly and passed the bottle back and forth as we squeezed our way back towards our condo-end of the Malecon.

Fireworks were unending until just before dawn - looks to me like 2014 has come in strong and full of courage and energy. People of this country have a deep, inherent pride in their history, and work tirelessly to move their country forever forward. May this new year reflect their efforts even more brightly.