Morenada

So this dance is called Morenada, and it is sort of hard to describe - there seem to be a lot of different costumes and separate pieces going on. My favourite part, however, is the girls dressed as cholitas. They are the ones swishing back and forth, wearing the traditional costume.

Believe it or not, lots and lots of ladies dress like this every day! Their everyday outfits are a little less flashy than these ones, but they wear the big skirts with the multiple petticoats underneath, and the lovely shawls, and of course the bowler hat! Pretty much every time I get on a minibus to go anywhere, there is at least one lady in traditional dress, often more than one. They have developed the fine art of keeping those hats on their heads no matter what the circumstances - I don't know how they do it!

One thing that really surprised Aimee and I when we got down here was seeing these ladies in their traditional dress, looking so old-fashioned, and then they'd pull a cell phone out of their pocket and start talking! Seems incongruous, but no matter what you wear, I guess you still need to keep in touch with people.

I think that's all of the traditional dances I will put up for now. I hope you enjoyed them. Sarah, good luck creating the traditional dance of Fort Langley! And Aimee, yes, I think I'll be taking lessons to dance the cueca, is that great or what??

Love to all,
Rachael