Huelga de Dolores 2005

The float seen here features a blindfolded figure often used to represent justice. She holds a tombstone that says "Here lies Hope—We are all lost".

This afternoon I witnessed a curious spectacle, the so-called "Huelga de Dolores" (Strike of Sorrows—"strike" in the sense of "labour disruption"). It's about 100 years old, and is basically an annual satirical parade put on by students from the University of San Carlos. As it falls just before Semana Santa (Holy Week), during which countless religious processions fill the streets, it serves as a sort of parody of religion while making sharp satirical political commentary. Anthropologists call these kind of events "world-turned-upside-down" events because during the space of the event those who do not have power are able to criticize the powerful without consequence. These events can also feature cross-dressing and open defiance of accepted cultural and social roles—in this case, for example, parade participants applied lipstick to men watching from the sidewalk. Not an everyday thing in Latin America!

The unoffical theme of this year was the TLC—Central American Free Trade Agreement (with the U.S.). Many of the parade "floats" attacked the TLC and Americans in general.

This guy was genuinely creepy

Canadians and their bad open-pit mining practices were also a target at the parade and it was disturbing to see ourselves as a type of imperialist force worthy of condemnation. This flag says MINE YOUR ASS

Parade participants are often dressed in different colored "Ku-Klux-Klan"-like robes and hoods (actually a reference to the gowns and hoods worn during the Semana Santa celebrations, nothing to do with the KKK). The color of the hood is determined by your departmental affiliation at the university.

The parade weaves through the streets of the city's historical centre ("Zone 1")—an area littered with ornate 18th-century residential buildings in disrepair, mid-twentieth century buildings with rooftop gardens and much street vending. These streets crowded daily with bus and car traffic overflows with floats designed by students of the different faculties and departments of the university.

The skeleton is a common motif, but there were also people dressed as giant phalli (I'm not sure what that was about).