Diablos

Hola!
Almost another week has gone by again. I've had almost two weeks of spanish instruction so far and I'm just now at the point where I can carry on a simple conversation with the family I'm staying with. It is a small but important reward because sometimes I feel like I'm not making much progress and it can be frustrating. But as my spanish teacher says {poco a poco}.

On Monday we had a fun excursion to a town called San Cristobal about half an hour away. We could tell it would be a good trip because some of the other spanish teachers were coming along, not just students. Normally only one of the teachers has to accompany the students for the week's activities.

The festival is to celebrate the Virgin of Guadelupe (Mexico). There is a procession through the streets towards the church. They carry a statue of the Virgin Mary on a platform. Following them are a band, some distinguished looking gentlemen dressed in nice clothes, and some people dressed up in scarecrow costumes, aliens (I don't know why) and there were some 'victims' of Hurricane Stan which is still fresh in people's minds.

The main attraction of the parade was the painted devils (diablos) who were painted head to toe in black, silver, or red paint. They would pass by screaming and growling at everyone. later on, they would rub off some their paint on some of the spectators. They would seek out the gringos first, but especially would go after the gringas, as they were all men. By the end of it they were chasing kids and our group through the streets. They got all of us in the end though, but it was the most fun time had so far. I will try to put up some pictures later. The diablos didn't bother with most of the people, but I guess we were fare game because we came prepared with old clothing. Most of the people watching seemed really delighted to see the gringos walking along all covered in paint. They had huge smiles on their faces, so it was really a happy time for all.