Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ) is a seven day celebration beginning on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday. It is a feast celebration and in Cuenca it is celebrated with sweets, glorious sweets in gluttonous proportions, fireworks and parades.
This is one of the celebrations I have looked the most forward to experiencing since before I arrived in Ecuador. It did not disappoint. I have lots of photos to share with you, although I didn't get parade or fireworks photos, so there will be something for you to look forward to next year.
The festival mostly takes place in El Centro, (the center) on the blocks surrounding Parque Calderon, and while it is going on all day, I find the night time celebration is fabulous with all the colored lights, the cooler temperatures and families walking the streets together. Literally blocks and blocks of booths side by side and on the wider streets two rows of them featuring the delectable treasures of the celebration.
The cornerstone of the celebration is sweets. While you can find common sweets in the booths, there are a lot of sweets that are only made during the celebration. We tried a whole host of them as you will see below and they were each good. A little chocolate, lots of fruits, and enough sugar to draw every bee in town to El Centro and a diabetic's nightmare. But you only live once, right?
Besides the sweets, fireworks, and parades, you will also find real food, colored spot lights, carnival games and maybe even a protest. Without further ado, I present our experience of Corpus Christi with the note that we can't wait until next year!
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| Our approach into El Centro |
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| Oh My! TOO much to choose from! |
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| Miles of sugary goodness |
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| The treats we ended up bringing home. See the egg? These eggs were everywhere and we knew they were confections, but when I asked a vendor "What is this" she responded "an Egg" hahaha then she told me it was chocolate, I trusted her and brought it home with me. We tried cutting the outer sugar layer, no success, we tried cracking it like an egg, no success except I think maybe I broke a chunk out of the counter top, we didn't have a hammer or a saw, so Mom ran it under hot water to melt the sugar. Success! Fabulous chocolate inside, I think this particular treat is a joke on the Gringos, hehehe. |
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| Carnival game reminiscent of roulette. |
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| Another carnival game. |
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| Fishing with beer bottles, Hey I think I saw this in Mississippi! |
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| Outdoor cooking smelled SOO good, unfortunately we had already had dinner. |
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| Chicken, sausage, corn and potatoes. |
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| The following few pictures are the new Cathedral doors, usually gold, with the different cycling colored spot lights. I know, but we were transfixed and mesmerized. |
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| Dancers in the Gazebo at Parque Calderon |
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| Lots of colors in the Parque. They were beginning to set up the frameworks for the fireworks. |
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| We ran up on a protest. It was really quite cool, not frightening at all, just very loud. Our US State Department warning about this protest didn't come out until the next day, Oh Well, we survived and got some great photos. |
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| We trust our fine Policia! |
~*~
Dale in Cuenca
Living the good life!
