Every been to Ecuador in Carnival season? It's pure mayhem. Nobody and nothing is save. It includes the weirdest and disgusting traditions, like throwing eggs and flour at people. Which isn't that bad, because the chances of getting a bucket of water from a rooftop are pretty high. And there's foam everywhere, so in the end, you're usually clean again. Just wet. Very wet.
Cotacachi is a little town in the north of Ecuador, my home for 12 years now. And in those 12 years, I haven't gotten out on Carnival really, I try to stay home. If I have to go out, I put on my German-face and nobody dares to pull shenanigans on me.
But Lily is now 7.5 years old. And boy, she does know how to beg and nag! I thought I had escaped the madness by telling there that we'd go after the ballet classes. When we went home from the classes, she cried because the parade was over. I told her we could drop by the main square and see if there was anything happening, but she shouldn't get her hopes up.
So we did. Already on the way we collected several of the typical foam canisters that pollute the city these days. At least Lily is conscious of that, and being the nature-loving girl that she is, she doesn't want to pollute so I don't have to buy her any. Which I wouldn't. I think. I mean, she really knows how to beg. She even does those puppy eyes. Such a great manipulator. Definitely a prospect for World President.
Big surprise! The party was still on. And HOW ON. The Municipio de Cotacachi had pulled all the levers, the mayor was in a clowns costume and encouraged me to jump into the foam, the head of the cultural department was soaking wet, and all the other figures were somewhat disguised and full of foam, too, reeking of artificial fragrance. And they smiled. Oh, how they smiled!
Cotacachi had a lot of hard times. All of Ecuador. Austerity programs by the government leading to a fierce resistance fight in September/October 2025, with Cotacachi as its core, shutting down the already beaten down economy even further. We're still recovering from that, and will be for a while.
And there comes the carnival! A little break from all that hardship, a break. And how little it takes. Water, soap and air. And a machine and an operator, of course, but honestly? That infinite happiness of the children today was contagious. Everyone was laughing. Even I forgot my German face and got absolutely foamed and sprayed on and I reek of artificial fragrance.
We're a resilient little town. Knocked down many times, never defeated. Okay, maybe 500 years ago once. But even that culture is preserved a lot here. The indigenous Kichwa culture is very strong, and growing stronger as the communities are researching their roots, and reclaiming the watered down folklore back, bringing back the substance of what their celebrations were. In this case - Pawkar Raymi, the flower festival, the festival of blooming, which starts in February and ends with the equinox in March.
It's a cheerful time here. If you ever come to Ecuador, try to come around these weeks. Visit Cotacachi if you can. Visit Otavalo. You'll see smiles all around, laughter, absolutely weird crap, too, within an astonishing beauty.
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