Carnaval

I don't know the origins of Carnaval or even what it means for most Catholic folks. In Peru, Carnaval consists of three things: making a bamboo raft covered in bread and fruit, felling and replanting a tree, and a well-deserved drunk.

And it's the holiest of holidays.

Country life in Peru is brutal. It is seven days of work, little protein and nothing to celebrate. Except for two days in February. Two exceptional days: a convergence of friends and family and food; forgiveness of the year's misgivings; drinking and dancing.

In January of last year I quit my job and bussed from Portland, Oregon, to Mazac, Peru, so that I could see this:



Then, while the women cook sheep's head stew and guinea pig, the men cut down and replant a tree (with dubious results):


Finally, the village meets up in its center to celebrate the bamboo raft, the fruit and bread and beer, the music of the Andes: