Feria in San Pedro

In my last post, I commented how lucky I was to have chosen Lake Atitlan and San Pedro for my 2 week stay in Guatemala.

I got lucky again to have chosen these past two weeks to visit...weeks filled with celebrations, parties and la feria..the fair.

Both San Pedro and San Juan, the next town over, celebrated their patron saints back to back this past week, which meant double the party for people living close to these towns...people like me.

The first week was in San Juan and I rode in the back of a crowded pick up truck with dozens of other pedranos (natives of San Pedro) looking to start the fiestas early.

The "Queens" represent their home village by the kind of traditional dress they wear.

During the day, they had traditional dances, parades and beauty paegents. Then at night, the fun reaches a crecendo.

Una noche en la Feria-A night at the Fair:

Imagine a tightly packed flea market, going on for blocks, with people selling anything from watches, to underwear and coats, to sunglasses.




Then pepper in a bunch of food stands cooking up pizza, tacos, cotten candy, fried bananas and grazed ice.











Pair this with a large carnvial-complete with clowns, fooseball tables from your grandparent´s basement, arcade games, loud announcers calling out loteria pieces (their form of Bingo), unnervingly fast ferris wheels and little kid rides controlled manually. 






Finally, add several energetic live performers singing and dancing their hearts out while the conservative, passive crowd looks on without emotion.

 (Note: The majority of people in San Juan and San Pedro are conservative Evangelicals-they are prohibited to drink and dance among other things. Attending a lively salsa concert where the entire crowd  stood expressionless and motionless was one of the most eerie experiences I've had thus far..)

Singing about dancing a putting your hands in the air, but with no response from the crowd.

And there you have it friends. A real, authentic feria in Lake Atitlan.