My steemit friends I'm so glad you made it to this post. You have to check out this video showing how the people in Guayaquil Ecuador celebrate New Year's Eve. During the whole month of January they prepare by making manigotes, or paper mache dolls. They burn these dolls at midnight representing the death of the old year as they bring in the new year!
I got a tip a few days earlier on where to go from a guy selling these "manigotes" on the street. This is no joke, they really represent the death of the old year. Around 11:45 I hit the street and got to the area where I was told there would be the most action. But I wasn't ready for this intense cultural experience. I don't think there was anything I could have done to prepare for this!
Leading up to midnight there was this very eary feeling. People were strangely quiet. Children and adults where all carefully lying these life like human looking dolls all over the middle of the street. The seriousness on everyone's face got me nervous. It was like there was a public execution about to take place.
There was no ball dropping, no music, no dancing, suddenly I looked at my phone; 11:59. I started looking around. Men began kneeling down next to the piles of manigotes with lighters and bags of explosive in their hands. Before I new it I felt like I was in a war zone. I was surrounded.
The explosions where everywhere and deafening, setting car alarms off and sending burning debris through the air. People were ducking for cover and so was I. I was trying to hold the camera steady but I was getting hit by flaming sparks and debris and trying to avoid billows of smoke coming at me from different directions.
At one point during this video, I couldn't focus on filming, it was too dangerous and I had to steer clear of the fire and explosive and take cover. By the end of the night I stunk like smoke and had a few burns in my clothes; but I had dozens of photos and a second video, better than this one that I'll be sharing tomorrow.
I made it out physically unharmed but I'm sure not everyone there could say the same. This was by far the most exciting and memorable New Years Eve of my life. Now let's have our first look at how the "Guayacas" celebrate their New Year's Eve in Guayaquil Ecuador!
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