dancing, drumming, and tear gas

This past weekend thousands of earth-loving, fire-juggling, afro-dancing, drum-stomping, chilean hippies made a pilgrimage to Valparaiso, for the 11th annual Mil Tambores (1000 drums) Carnaval (http://www.miltambores.cl/). The festival has gained momentum every year, and has turned into a mammoth percussion party that takes over the streets and grassy parks of Valparaiso the first weekend of October. It's goal is to bring people together to celebrate the beauty of the earth and promote environmental and cultural stewardship. Throughout the weekend there were parades, talks, classes, and shows all focused on taking a more pro-active stance on environmental responsibility.

On Friday, a 2 mile long parade wound its way through the cerros along Ave. Alemania. But the word "parade" is too confining- in reality, it was thousands of people walking together, a moving, dancing, drumming party. Before the parade everyone gathered in Playa Ancha and painted their bodies, got decked out in beautiful costumes, and warmed up on their drums.  The parade started at 5, and lucky for me, it went right by my house around 7 pm. I've never seen a parade like this before.

Choreographed dancing, constant drumming, jugglers, clowns, mimes, naked men and women, puppets- where did all of these people come from?! The excitement and energy in the air was contagious, and people joined in the dancing underneath a giant Chilean flag.

On Saturday I spent the whole day in Waddington park, eating organic soyburgers and sushi, soaking up sun, and watching dance performances. 

Peace, love, and happiness were the resounding themes throughout the weekend; however, on Saturday, around 4 in the morning, things went wrong. Following tradition, there was a party in the street after the parade. Plaza Anibell Pinto was packed with drunk, painted, charged up young people who had every intention of partying until sunrise (and into the next day). Around 3:30 the police showed up in riot control tanks, around 3:40 everyone started running, around 3:45 the police starting throwing tear gas, around 3:55 the police started spraying with hoses. At 4:00, anger and rage screamed through the streets. A full-blown war. People threw bottles at the tanks, smashed windows, knocked down stoplights, and screamed profanities. Interestingly enough, I had been passing by the street party minutes before the battle started (and in all seriousness, I had JUST arrived and wasn't planning on staying). So I got swept up in the riot and got tear gased- yet another cultural experience along with earthquakes, tsunamis, and spider bites. Luckily, my friend Seba lives near by, and we ran to his house. We watched the war out his window, and waited until it was safe to leave. I went home at 5 in the morning, the streets were sparkling with glass, it reaked of pisco and rum, and peace, love and hapiness had found a safer, cleaner place to rest.

(plaza equador at 5am: pic courtesy of carla araneda)

When the lazy, spring sun came up, the drums started beating again, and peace was restored, but the ecstasy of Mil Tambores was kept in check for the rest of the weekend. The tear gas drifted through the streets all weekend, molesting nostrils and tickling throats. There was no party in the street on Saturday night. It's hard to say, but, if I had to choose sides, I would say the party in the street was exactly what a party in the street should be. From what I saw, there was no fighting and no mischief- until the cops showed up and used force to break the party up. There was no police presence or regulation until 3:30, and only about 5 minutes of verbal warnings before tear gas and hosing. Patricio shook his head when I told him, and said it was because of the new, more conservative government, and that it had NEVER been broken up in the past.

Tear gas, police brutality, and political affiliations aside, Mil Tambores was an incredible cultural experience. It was beautiful and vibrant, beating and stomping with life and hope for a brighter and greener future.