¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Hárdeman!

To most people I know, July 18th doesn’t really mean much. But here in Hárdeman, it is the anniversary of the founding of the town in 1968. And if it’s one thing Bolivian campesinos take seriously, it’s their town festivals. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big anniversary (25th or 50th) or a small one, it is a big deal. It’s four days of activities and parties that everyone participates in. And Hárdeman has the reputation of being one of the best parties in the area. So needless to say, I was excited to see what all the fuss was about. School was cancelled for the entire week (a bit much, I’d say) and Sunday night the festival kicked off with the election of Miss Hárdeman. This time the contestants were a little older (the youngest being 15 I think), so that was a little better than the Miss San Juan where some of them were sixth graders, but due to my gringo habit of arriving at the time when things are supposed to start, there was enough time for them to rope me into being a judge for the pageant. There were seven or eight contestants, competing in three different categories of clothing as well as answering a few Hárdeman-related questions. A girl named Gabriella won, with my host cousin Yhesenia coming in a close second. Here’s a shot of me and Miss Hárdeman a couple of days later:

Monday was a pretty low-key day, but things picked up that night. My friends Rudy and Kevin showed up to enjoy the festivities and we headed out to the big concert they were having with some excellent musicians promised to be there. My host brother Pepe was put in charge of bringing one of the groups called “Raices” (which means “Roots”) and that night they showed up at our house to shower and get ready for the show, so it was pretty cool to “meet the band.” They were great guys and put on an awesome show…they were two guys with acoustic guitars and a singer, so I really liked it. Here’s a shot of me with the band, along with some moronic high school kids doing the bunny-ears from behind, a guaranteed addition to any photo taken in Bolivia. It just never gets old for them. Kind of pissed me off because it’s a pretty good picture aside from that.

From right: Sergio, Carlos, Me, Henry and some drunk dude I don’t know. I went to see these guys again at a bar in Santa Cruz and they remembered me when I walked in, which impressed my friends to no end. Here’s a shot of some of my host cousins enjoying the tunes Raices was putting out:

And Rudy, Kevin and myself hanging out with my pal Sambu…who is deaf and mute so communicating with him is always interesting:


In addition to Raices there was another singer there who sang Chaquarera music, which is from the dry, southern region of the country called the Chaco. The Chaco is very rich with culture and the cowboy lifestyle, and the music is absolutely excellent, without a doubt the best Bolivian music. This lady was a great entertainer (or entertainress?) and put on a fantastic show. Telling jokes between songs and really just getting into it with the crowd. She loved it and everyone loved her. Even some of the youngest citizens in Hárdeman even got into the mix:

Just so you know, that’s not soda.

We spent the next couple of nights dancing and sharing and just having a good ‘ol time. The good musicians left after that first night, so we were stuck with an extremely average Bolivian band, but it wasn’t all bad. Everyone in town got a kick out of watching us gringos dancing. Especially Rudy, who is pretty much the best dancer I’ve ever met. I paired him up with my friend Maritza, who is also a very good dancer:

They had a great time cutting the rug together and I can’t tell you how many people came up to me afterwards to comment on how fun it was to watch them and asked me when Rudy is coming back. Good times.

Instead of having rides, they brought in a bunch of foosball tables and a couple of trampolines, which we took advantage of. Here’s Rudy flying through the air with the greatest of ease:


On the actual day of the anniversary, they had a little parade in town. Nothing much compared to say, the Harvest Home Parade, but fun regardless. Here I am in the parade with the rest of the folks from the Water Cooperative:
(parade)

Overall, it was a really fun few days. I couldn’t help but constantly make comparisons to the St. Ignatius Festival or Harvest Home Fair back home. Staying up late and enjoying the company of some great folks and rejoicing in the founding of mi querido pueblito Hárdeman. I leave you with a few shots of hanging out with friends throughout the week: