Jeronimo... You crazy fool!

I just had quite the experience. I vaguely remember my host mom telling me I had a commitment this morning, but I didnt remember it being anything like I just witnessed. Basically, we all know that almost every other country in the world besides the good ol US of A likes to party and will find any excuse to do so. Be it religious reasons, government holidays, or just a lack of creative reason to have a three day weekend. Well today I witnessed that even the Catholic Church likes to find a good reason to get drunk.

Today was the festival to celebrate the Saint Jeronimo. I have never heard of him and to be honest I thought it was a cowboy term used when you were making a suicidal run towards a bunch of angry Indians. Well I guess the church beat me to it and Jeronimo is an old saint that was known for being a drunk and womanizer. I never knew this side of the story but I guess he was such a drunkard and flirt that he eventually went out into the mountains to ask for forgiveness. Somehow this translates into people now getting ridiculously trashed and deciding to dress up like Halloween. I went down to the neighboring Barrio with my host mom and witnessed a mix of Halloween, drunkness, and marching band that I have never seen before. Basically it is a long procession with a drum and brass band and a bunch of dressed up people dancing behind them. Then there is the crazy idea of creating a huge float out of bamboo and living plants. A float seems like a good idea, but to add a Nicaraguan flavor it has to be carried by at least 20 people and they of course chose the hilliest part of town. It was interesting to watch, but you couldnt help but think why. I mean there are so many flat parts of town, but they chose the hilly side. To tie back in to the story of Jeronimo there were many people along the way that you would find passed out or just walked over. I guess they are on their way to the mountains to ask forgiveness. Either way, it was a funny time and perhaps the most ridiculuous. Did I forget to mention that they chose the hottest part of the day to do this in?