Of Chuchaqui and burning chickens

In the Chimborazo region, there are four traditional figures that can be seen throughout the city, especially during festivals: dog, bird, clown, and devil. It is customary for families, companies, and organizations to organize parades, in which the participants are dressed as these animals. David's family combined this parade with a big celebration for the whole family, to which we were warmly invited. We didn't know what to expect and, especially due to our poor Spanish skills, we were afraid it would be a 'long evening' for us - but it was quite the opposite! After the parade, with a band of course, we went to David's cousin's house and then it started: the oldest members of the family started dancing and soon the whole large family was dancing to the band's very unusual sounds for us. An interesting thing was how thirst is quenched here: 'Los Priores', the hosts, walk around with liquor and beer and serve the guests. The glass should be immediately emptied and then passed on to the next person, refilled. As guests, we were especially 'lucky' in this regard (the hospitality of the family is truly overwhelming!), which is why we had to endure our first 'Chuchaqui' in Ecuador the following day. I probably don't need to explain what 'Chuchaqui' means... The grand finale of the celebration was a large fireworks display - well, not just a fireworks display... A huge chicken, prepared with various fireworks, was the focus of attention. David had the honor of 'putting on' this chicken and dancing until the fireworks were exhausted. So, if any of the readers would like to see a huge burning chicken, they should go to the Chimborazo region as soon as possible and watch a fireworks display there! By the way, we saw the parade with the costumes again the following day, as all of Riobamba was on the move to celebrate the end of the Christmas season.