Globos

Water is big here, even when it's not the rainy season. People celebrate their friend's birthdays with buckets of (often cold) water -- in bed, before they wake up. A glass of water in someone's house or even a water bottle bought in a tienda gets the diminutive pet-name-form aguita. And a huge part of a Carnaval -- especially for kids -- is the globos de agua. They stockpile them, use them untied to squirt water semi-accurately in the chosen direction, and -- when the time is right -- tie them up tightly for a satisfying explosion on contact. My gringa compatriots have been more popular as targets, but I've been doused as well -- and a big splattery one grazed my head the other day. Anyway, here are some highlights from the days leading up to Ash Wednesday (when the water shenanigans are allegedly over -- though there was a kid walking down the aisle for ashes with a big squirt gun in his hand.)