Easter, Easter break, and Border Agents

A view of the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls, with Saint Martin island in the middle










Stating the obvious...me in front






























Adam and Eve Falls in the background, Bossetti Fall and one of the two Sister Falls in the foreground...incredible views!!



















Looking down the Parana river from Devil's Throat Fall



















One of the trails in the lower circuit--you can almost feel the struggle of man against nature as the jungle canopy overshadows the single-file trails throughout the park.















Garganta del Diablo--Devil's throat















Climbing Yaguaron's hill requires a customary terere stop.




Look at all the people heading up the hill!!










Contemplating the surrounding view and trying to locate Itaugua in the distance
















The giant kurusu or cross on top of the hill and my fellow pilgrims...




















the pose of a typical paraguayan--shaggy black hair, blistering heat in the surrounding tropical environment, and of course, terere in hand




















Alba and I on top of the hill














Hey everyone...long time no write. These past two weeks have been full of adventures and lots of work!!

First, i got a great visit with my old buddies Carol and Tony that i had met back in October. they had come back to travel and also to buy the land where they want to build a house for their retirement here in Paraguay. I loved talking about my project progress as Carol taught me about plants and other projects she is working on to better the hotel in San Bernardino.

I also taught another workshop, this time in Itaugua though it wasn't nearly as successful as I would have liked. The students just weren't interested in it, it seemed, and got bored and conked out on me which made it basically impossible to teach. But, at least i offered the course and hopefully they got something out of it that they can use...

For Easter, Latin culture has an entire week of festivities and Paraguayan Semana Santa (Holy Week) was no exception. Everyone had days off from schools and work, and everyone took advantage to travel or party. I, as the dutiful anthropologist, took advantage to observe some traditional ceremonies and learn about traditional Holy Week rituals. Local schools had even held school on Saturday in order to free up Wednesday and therefore have a 5-day weekend. Not too bad.

I went back to a town called Yaguaraon, home to the Jesuit church I showed in a previous entry. On Holy Friday, the tradition is to climb a nearby hill and hold Mass on top of the hill symbolizing the march to Calgary and Christ's crucifixion...complete with a gigantic metalic cross on top of the hill and a small church filled with candles and sweaty people. It was really hot climbing that hill and despite being only about a 15 minute hike, I was covered in sweat and wondering how it was that I could climb 10,000 feet peaks without a problem and yet climbing a 300 ft climb about killed me. After chilling on some big rocks on the top under what limited shade we could find, we went to the church and watched as the 'apostles' of the local Catholic ministry brought out a wooden effigy of Christ which they proceeded to nail to a cross in the open plaza while people sang in Guarani. There were 2 statues of the virgin Mary on the side--one dressed in white and the other in black--to symbolize the virgin mother and her grief at watching her son die. Then they brought out Saint John though the apostle I talked with didn't have a good reason as to why that was the only saint that they brought out. We didn't get to see the rest of the ritual, but in the afternoon they supposedly take the body down and place it in a glass casket that they proceed to parade around town visiting the different smaller chapels throughout the town to then take it back to meet up with the virgin dressed in white as Christ is resurrected (and they take the wooden effigy and put it back into storage). It was really interesting to me to see though it honestly gave me a very dark impression and I didn't feel uplifted at all. I don't understand the whole emphasis on the cross and the suffering of the Savior when they recognize that He has been resurrected--my Jesus is a living Jesus, not a weak, suffering, shriveled shell of a mortal body nailed to a cross. I accept the crucifixion, but I don't dwell on it.

The next day, Alba and I went to a local museum that showcases Paraguayan mythology--as the story goes, a pair of ancient parents had 7 monstrous children and each one has various characteristics--the most popular one is called Pombero but due to local belief, most people prefer to refer to him as the "man of the night" so as not to tempt his arrival. he loves to drink and smoke and will do favors to people that leave him offerings of cigarettes but punishes those that begin to offer him gifts but then stop. Another common one si Jasy Jatere--a blond-haired blue-eyed midget man that runs through the forest looking for children to steal away. If any children are caught awake at the mid-day nap time, they are quickly reminded that Jasy Jetere is out and about and that they better get to bed right away. in short, all of them are basically nasty, monstrous, creepy, and generally not nice things to run into. And, despite the superficial extravagence of the stories, even the most intellectual Paraguayans believe in at least some part of the stories and knows of somebody that has had personal experience with one of them. I'll be honest that it gives me chills and I've been told some stories that make me wonder...

In other news, i just got back from a whirlwind trip from one end of Paraguay to the other and back. I had to renew my visa and so I figured I would go see the Iguazu falls on the Argentine border and get the renewal at the same time. I hadn't factored in the fact that Paraguay doesn't regulate that particular border and that it technically borders Brasil and so i didn't actually want them to regulate it either... So I decided I would go see the waterfalls and then I would have to go back and cross another border. For those that haven't heard of Iguazu Falls, let me introduce you. In every sense of the word, they are INCREDIBLE!! i had heard lots of good things and had wanted to go ever since I went to live in Buenos Aires, but I had no idea how sincerely awe-inspiring they would be close-up. Measuring over 70 meters--about 230 ft high, the sheer power of the rushing water overwhelmes you and you can hear them long before you actually hear them. I started out by seeing the "garganta del diablo" of the devil's throat--a semicircle depression of massive rushing water that is split in half between Brasil and Argentina. The whole region used to belong to Paraguay before the Triple Alliance War in the 1870s and has since become one of UNESCO's world heritage sites and a huge tourist income producer for the other two countries... Anyway, it was incredible to pass through a miles of smooth, crystal clear water that didn't seem to be moving at all and then all of sudden see it crash down a 200-ft precipice creating enough splash to send sprays back up on us gawking tourists at the top. I was impressed with the infraestructure too and Argentina had invested in 2001 to build new metal walkways that take you within 20 feet of the waterfalls. Incredible. I spent more than 6 hours walking along all the winding trails and snapping about a million pictures. It seemed like you could point your camera in any direction and get a postcard perfect shot. examples included in this post...

I then proceeded to jump on a cross-country bus and went to cross the Argentine border at Clorinda and renew my visa there, but made a word choice error of saying that i "lived" in Itaugua when the agent asked me where I was coming from and he got the idea that I was breaking my "tourist" status and didn't want to let me out of the country. They took me into the office and continued to explain that i needed to go to the main office and pay 260,000 Gs. (about 70 dollars) to get a 6-month stay and that they wouldn't give me the stamp to leave the country. I got really upset and said that I knew the law and that i could cross the border and it would automatically renew my 90 days, that i didn't need 6 months and that they were going to have to let me cross the border. I was just waiting for the part when they would ask for their bribe because they obviously wanted one but weren't going to explicitly ask for it and i wasn't going to give in. They finally gave me the stamp with a sigh of resignation stating that i wouldn't be able to come back into the country because i had to spend 72 hours outside the country in order to renew the visa. I spent a day in Formosa meeting up with some new friends going down the same road that sell Herbalife natural supplements and asked around to find an old nanduti workshop that was mentioned in a documentary made in then 1980s. The workshop has long since disappeared, but I got some good leads to go back and talk to in another trip. The next day i went back to the border and, as I had expected, passed through without a single question, hesitation, or bribe request. I now have another 90 days to be in the country...though I am going to Buenos Aires in a week and will get it renewed once again. Ah the frustration of timelines and beaurocracies!!

I am now back in Itaugua and working fervently to polish up a Spanish transcript we have been working on. I have more photos than my computer can hold and am working to organize a comparison showing the nanduti designs that are inspired in local flora and fauna and the actual plants and animals that the designs represent. of the more than 130 designs, I have all but 7 of the photos, and have procured all NEW samples of the actual weavings for photos in our book. I consider it a real accomplishment. i'm a little frustrated with the other partner that was in charge of all the literary write-ups because she hasn't produced the quality of historical and social analysis i was hoping for, but in general i'm satisfied. we are going to work on getting it all organized and then look for funding for printing it and doing a book release at the end of the month or the beginning of May. how cool is that?? Too bad for you guys it's all in Spanish, but since I'm covering the rest of the literary stuff, I'll have a great base for my English work and I'll be updating you on where and when you can get your copy ;)

OK, enough typing for today. Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter! sending my love,

Kristine