Carnaval In Salta
1 march 2001
As I said in my earlier post, we started seeing Carnaval in Salta, Argentina.
The guide books told us that there was camping at Parque Carlos X??????, one of the largest swimming pools in the world. Indeed, it is huge, a small man-made lake really. They tell me that chlorine is added but there is no filtration system so it's drained and refilled about once a month during the summer. When we first got there, the level was really down and we were a little disappointed. But the water was really pouring in from the very deep well which is the source of this oasis in the desert. The next day it was looking pretty good. We wound up staying an extra day because the people there were just great, the pool was terrific and, after all, Carnaval was getting started!
We attended a Corso, which meant that a few blocks of a street were blocked off and turned into a dancing parade. Different groups, each with their own music and costumes, danced the length of the Corso. We had to pay a small admission for this one. The crowds were about 6 rows deep so I had to really bully my way in to see anything. It went on for about 3 or 4 hours. Interestingly enough, alcoholic bevarages were banned. Some of the costumes were fairly simple and some were extremely elaborate, with 10 foot headresses, covered with feathers and beads and sequins. The music was almost invariably local indigenous music and the dances were the associated folk dances. However, there were a couple of groups that took a different path.
One group mimiced Rio, in that the music was samba and the women very nearly naked. This drew gasps from the locals and certainly got Tyler and Shay's attention.
The other group that took a different path used classical music and the women were dressed in elaborate ball gowns. Everyone danced and danced and danced!
We discovered that a local custom for Carnaval involves spraying everyone, but primarily the young girls, with artificial snow. This stuff comes in a spray can and the normal usage, I think, is to spray it straight up in the air so that the snow floats down on the crowd. But in Salta, it's a direct hit to the body and/or head and everybody looks like they've been covered in shaving cream. Shay wanted to stay forever, spraying all the young girls.
Alas, we had to go. Next stop, La Quiaca, Argentina, the Bolivian border.
Jeanne
