fireworks!

When we first arrived in Peru we'd sometimes hear fireworks and rush outside to see what was going on. It didn't take us long to learn that fireworks do not necessarily mean that "something is going on" -- at least not in the way we were thinking. The "something" might be a 4-year-old's birthday party. Or a church picnic. Or some university students procrastinating homework. We also discovered that 3 a.m. on a Tuesday is a perfectly acceptable time to set off fireworks in one's neighborhood. So, gone are the days when we eagerly climb up onto our roof at the first sound of a firecracker. (We're also very grateful that we brought a supply of earplugs.)

However, the other day when we walked by a Catholic church and saw men constructing 40-foot tall bamboo towers and rigging them with fireworks, we figured this might be worth checking out.

David waiting for the show to begin. You can see the bamboo towers, or castles, in the background.

So later that night we fought the urge to stay in our comfy house and watch a movie, and wandered back downtown to check things out. We waited around for 45 minutes or so. (Silly me, when one of the guys constructing the towers had told me the fireworks would start at 8:00, I actually believed him.)

Finally, around 8:45 this poor sucker risked his life to provide the eager crowd with some pre-show entertainment.

By the way, on the other side of the sign he's holding is a picture of San Judas Todeo (Saint Jude), in whose honor the festivities were taking place. I can just imagine Jude looking down from heaven and marveling at his devotees who, nearly 2,000 years after his death, venerate him by lighting explosives on fire.

St. Jude oohing and ahhing at the fireworks display.

Then, after some singing and a few traditional dances in the church courtyard, they finally got around to what everyone was waiting for: Light up the towers baby!

They lit the towers one section at a time, and the explosions set things spinning, twisting and swinging in all directions. No one seemed the least bit concerned about safety issues, and no one ducked or ran when sparks and bits of bamboo rained down on the crowd.

Being the safety-conscious Americans that we are, we kept our distance. No one was injured, though, unless you count the roof of a passing police car that took a hit from a piece of flaming debris. It really was quite unique and entertaining -- much better, I'm sure, than whatever movie we might've watched if we'd stayed home.