(WARNING: If you're a big fan of piggies...live piggies...you might not want to read this. I have spared you some of the more vivid descriptions of the food part of the celebration but if you don't like pictures of animal heads on sticks, this might not be the post for you. Consider yourself warned.)
And this is why I think I'm gonna love it here. Leave it to our wacky country hosts to spin an otherwise solemn liturgical celebration into a rip roarin', eatin', and drinkin' parade party.
Traditionally, St. John's Day (always on June 24) is observed throughout the country with some sort of water dousing ritual. In Balayan, they take it to the extreme. You have not been "blessed", if you haven't been soaked with freezing cold water apparently. Turns out we were blessed.....A LOT. It's basically a free for all water fight, pitting the parade participants against the spectators and NO ONE IS SAFE. Grandmas, babies, old men with canes - all were victims AND perps! It was a freakin' hoot!
What's with the dressed up pigs you ask? Well, believe it or not, there's an explanation for that too! The pig is a cornerstone of any Filipino festival, tradition, or large gathering -- it seems that it ain't a party until porky shows up. Parada ng Lechon is an opportunity to showcase the piggies and basically give thanks for the bounty of crunchy succulent goody they always bestow. Or at least, that's what I got out of it. So, the Balayan townspeople (local businesses mainly) dress up their pig mascot in a slew of different outfits, parade it through town, and then have a huge feast at the end. The pigs are often torn to shreds by the end of the parade. I am told that parade goers of years gone by would "steal" pieces of the pig while in route to their destination and that the vendors would protect their pigs with barbed wire etc. These days, it appears, sharing is caring. We had several "floats" rip off pieces of pig and try to hand them to us. I graciously bowed out because, well, I don't know there's something not terribly appetizing about a soggy pig, half eaten by strangers. Call me crazy...
Before we really knew what we were getting into
Everyone has the day off to celebrate St. John's day - even students.
Next time we'll bring an obscene-sized super soaker but for 2013, all we had were plastic buckets and cans of beer.
But when the buckets are filled with ice cold water, it's somehow still a "win".
As has been the case on a daily basis, the locals were FASCINATED by Z. This kid dumped a bucket of water on his head and then did an impression of M.J.
Never one to be left out, I begged the M.J. impersonator to get in a pic with me. He of course, poured water down the back of my shirt while doing so which I think is a fair trade, you?
These kids KNOW when a picture is being taken. This was on our way out and look at them! It's like they're doing a teenage version of see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
Iron Man piggy
Wonderwoman Piggy - pretty sure those are authentic pigs feet she has for hands. The plastic wrapping over her head isn't meant to be morbid by the way. There's just so much water flying around that parade participants wrap their pigs in plastic to protect them. Maybe that seems silly to you or me but not to folks who eat every part of the pig. They waste NOTHING and I'm sure Wonderwoman's pretty little face went to a good digestive cause later in the day.
A ridiculously cute moment. Probably one of my favorite pictures....ever.
And in case you didn't think the party was really bumpin, check this out (and we weren't even on the main parade route). All this and we're told this year's celebration was tame by comparison. Apparently when the holiday falls on the weekend, it's a party that could hang with Mardi Gras.
Last year was a VERY busy year for us so you'll, I hope, forgive that I am just getting around to posting some 2012 tidbits. Some things I'm sure I'll never get around to but there's at least one thing that I have to spread the word about or I won't be able to live with myself. See, last May, husbear and I rented an RV (we'll call her "Bessie") and drove a sorta upside down horseshoe through Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico then through Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee to get back to Northern Virginia. It was a fantastic trip and I'm so so glad we did it. I hope to share more of our adventures in the NO SHIT wild wild west but first and foremost, I need to let you in on a little secret.
Should you ever be in the neighborhood (and trust me, you won't ever be....so just drive there on purpose ok?), you should stop by this little museum/curio/roadside attraction/junkyard/all around awesome venue: THE TINKERTOWN MUSEUM. It was the ONE damn thing I really wanted to do on this roadtrip that didn't involve majestic scenery, hiking until we were purple in the face, or eating BBQ (we did all that too and yes....it was equally awesome). Er...maybe not equally. Because if you're me, the Tinkertown Museum pretty much epitomizes everything that is right and good in the world of road trips.
A sign found in Tinkertown that puts into words why RVing is still so popular and why we did this instead of a European vacation.
My husband had a moment's hesitation where he almost insisted we keep driving because we we needed to "start covering some ground" but a quick look at my face and I think he knew it was a fight he ever had a chance of winning. In any case, he did right by me and indulged my inner child (thank you dear) by stopping at this relic.
There have been many articles written and interviews given about this place so I won't bore you with the history. If you want to know more, you can do so by clicking here, here, or here.
And here's a video of Tinkertown with possibly the worst flute music I've ever heard:
What I will say is that almost everything in Tinkertown was MADE BY HAND over a 40 year period by one guy, Ross Ward (the dearly departed).
I think, in my case, I'll just let the pictures tell the story. Here are just a few snapshots from the museum that was made "while you were watching TV"....
I can't remember how much we paid to get into the museum but it was worth every damn penny so cough that shit up if you find yourself in Sandia, NM.
Wish this picture did justice to the scale of the place and the work that went in. I mean, one guy carved ALL that stuff! Sorry, I know it's a crap picture - I was TOO excited!
Even Mary Poppins makes a visit. How very superkalifragilisticexpialidocious!
PBR me ASAP
This was one of my favorites though I can't say I understand it. The Rusty Wyer Band is jamming out (you can see the whole band here) but what's that scary little ol' lady doin? I don't know but it makes a great photo op.
Seriously? How freakin' cool is that?? Who needs to drive all the way to Tombstone when you can have THIS experience at Tinkertown? Um...no one.
This is one of the many "automated" displays. There's a little switch you can turn that makes the chicken run away from the chef. If you look close, you can see the chicken there....and the chef running after him with a meat cleaver. Can you imagine? The chicken alone must have taken him a full day to carve. Crazy when you think about it!
This one makes me think he may have had a wee carving....problem/addiction.
Forgive the poor picture quality but this was pretty neat too. He did a scaled Big Top circus and up top were real photos of circus performers.
The deets: Tinkertown is open from April 1st through October 31st, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., 7 days a week -- last admission sold at 5:30 pm
And one more thing, I think I have to thank my parents for instilling in me the ability to appreciate things like this. This place truly is a simple pleasure in a complex world and I'm glad we went just a little bit out of our way to visit. The dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point in Utah was another great example of this but I guess that's a story for another day. Anyway, thanks to mom and dad for all the quirky road trips - makes you appreciate the little things.
