Water, Water Everywhere – Once Again, “The Curse of Carnival”

It is that time of year again here in Cochabamba (and everywhere else in Bolivia), Carnival, when the nation turns its attention to the urgent task of throwing balloons and buckets of water at other people. My daughter Mariana (3) and I have been right in the thick of it, waging major squirt gun wars with other kids in our neighborhood – well, when she isn’t squealing with delight over squirting Daddy square on in the butt. Mariana has excellent aim, punctuated by her trademark mixing of English and Spanish –“Yo voy a get you wet!”

In honor of Carnival we bring you, once again, our ever-popular 1999 story, “The Curse of Carnival”. Below is a snippet and a link to the full story. Enjoy!

The Curse Of Carnival

I am not leaving my house. The streets of Cochabamba have turned into a battle zone. Throughout the city people have armed themselves with everything from small pistols to long barreled rifles. From behind walls the unsuspecting are attacked with small hand-held bombs. No one is safe from attack. Okay Mom, don't panic! There is one other detail I need to mention, the weapon of choice is not bullets, it's water, by the gallons. It is Carnival week in Bolivia and the entire city of Cochabamba has turned into an all out, non-stop, no-holds-barred, water war. Read the rest of the story here.