Festival de Santiago

Another adventure in Pancho`s trusty, rusty VW camper. I have become a convert: VWs are the only way! The first trip was in an unnamed vehicle; I declared all VWs have to be christened, so we elected “Carro Sutra” as an eminently suitable title. So many a weekend since then Carro Sutra has ambled along Guatemalan highways with a cargo of friends, blankets, delicious fruit picked up from roadside stalls (and usually surf boards which get pride of place) ready for a spot of fun; it`s quite relaxing when only driving at 30 miles an hour! The poor baby can`t manage any more!

This time we headed for the annual music and culture festival at Santiago de Atitlan, on the shores of the lake. As we rolled into site, someone exclaimed how big it was! I looked on with my Glastonburied eyes, comparing the few hundred multi-coloured people sprawled in front of a cute stage with the horrors of 100,000 revellers covered in mud (yes, 1998, I am sure there are those of you who remember the deluge well!) This is the kind of festival which is hard to find in Europe in these trendified days of festival-going. Excellent local bands playing all styles of music ranking from grassroots country, jazzy blues, funk, reggeaton, latin to jamming sessions. All playing their hearts out on a tiny stage nestling against a backdrop of steeply inclining verdant forest, a multi-cultural clan jigging in front… The most fun we had was after the bands stopped playing, (scheduled to stop at 9pm but actually rolling on until 2.30am: completely typical latinamerican timing!), when the DJ cranked up the decks, even treating us to a full VJ set, playing fantastic trashy Euro/Latino pop from the 90s! My did we leap high and laugh hilariously!

Some friends did a beautiful dance performance; a combination of tango, belly dancing and contemporary dance. All under a moon which we marvelled at, suddenly peeking from behind the steep side of the volcano and appearing rapidly, a shot of bright white light in a previously black black sky. Camping that night was reminiscent of freezing nights spent in my youth on guide camps in Scotland (what fun!), with the notable added luxury of an air mattress, but my was it icy! We camped high up with a spectacular view over the fields and lake beyond.

The following day we joined a group jamming, singing and picnicing in the gorgeous sunshine until we all bundled into Carro Sutra and bid farewell to a lovely weekend.