2. It dates back to the last eruption of Cotopaxi in 1877. The habitants of
the area, surprised by that event and knowing their blind religious
faith , they went to the parish priest of the time to ask the Lord of the
Holy School moved to the slopes of the volcano , once offered the
Mass and other rites the time , they returned to Machachi,
accompanied by a procession. Parishioners chagras rode their
decorated horses, giving rise to the Paseo del Chagra Procession.
3. Every year in July the traditional "
Passing Chagra " takes place in the
urban parish Machachi, in Canton Mejía
, known as " the capital of Chagra " ,
where riders concur with the best
horses. The estates of the country
covered with chaps, striped ponchos ,
scarves and hats. They demonstrate
their skills in competitions of tame
ponies and horses.
4. The day of the ride begins with air mass, then the parade opens
with bull drawn by four huascas crier, managed by skilled
Chagras, music bands accompanying delegations town of Loja,
Imbabura, Pichincha, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi showing their
finery and skills to all those who enjoy this unique and colorful
festival.
The festival was born in
1983. Today, the Canton
Mejía is considered the
world capital of Chagra
5. The chagra in the parade, has three distinctions : the chagra of the year, who is
elected by the brotherhood for his work and human values , then the chagra of
memories is presented , is an old man because his wisdom has influence on
decisions community . At the end of the parade pregroneros chagras
accompanying the procession through the streets.
The clothing of the three characters do not differ between them, pants chaps,
scarf and poncho wool, hat aligacho ( sheep wool ) and leather boot.
Chagra costume costs between $ 400 and $ 650.
6. The horse is the inseparable companion of chagra
. A saddle can cost $ 1000. The parade is
accompanied by band music, traditional dance
and cuisine of Canton .
The typical dish is cooked, which is composed of
beans, mellocos , corn , potatoes and meat baked
in wood calf
The tour ends with the bullfight in village and a big
party with band music and fireworks
7. • In my personal opinion I think that this festival represents
a lot of culture, and is a good reason to celebrate into
each others the commemoration of a past event. It’s
important to preserve the good practices and
traditions, but through the history there were a lot of
accidents and fights because of the bad practices, for
example using alcohol (that created
fights, disagreements, etc). Personally, too I think that
this celebration is great for interacting with a lot of
people, but I don’t agree at all the reason why they
celebrate this festivals. By the way, I hope future parties
have greater peace and harmony for the welfare of all
people.
OPINION
