#Feria2015

It's that time of year again- time to celebrate the fiestas patronales and honor the Virgin Saint Lourdes! This week has been a whirlwind of vegetable oil, bailes, and light public nudity. Feria 2015 is definitely a step up from last year. I’ve been working with the fair committee since I got back in January to make this year the most impressive yet, and I’m proud to say we pulled off an amazing patron saint fair. 

My canton is made up of three casarios, and somehow we were able to claw our way through meetings and meetings with representatives from each casario until we found a nice balance in the program for all everyone to celebrate. I also added in the open house for my art class, which was a smashing success. 

This year I actually got to go to the fair. Like I explained last year, Evanglicals do not participate in the patron saint fair and so the new and confused Ale didn't participate much either. I went to the daytime events, but I definitely didn't go to the dance or leave the house early for the pre-dawn alboradas. It's a good thing that my new host family likes to party at all hours, because we were up at 4am for tamales and stayed out until midnight dancing. For the first time since I got here I experienced genuine fun in the campo. I had such an amazing time, and I got to spend a lot of time with people in the community that have been supportive and welcoming. 

I hope the bigger and better fair plans carry over for next year's patron saint fair. I might just have to make a trip back for it!