The Captivating Faces of the Famous June Fiesta in Pujilí

Three days of Corpus Christi parades in Pujilí, thousands of participants, all dancing along the streets in their colourful costumes. Yet often it was difficult to focus on a single captivating face in the moving crowd. Many of the groups were tightly packed and, since I had chosen a wide lens to capture the groups on the street, I couldn’t really zoom in. And the pace was often just too fast to focus the camera properly. In this follow-up gallery, we present some of the best close-ups I photographed during the fiesta.

Here’s a gallery depicting some of the captivating faces we encountered, during the famous Corpus Christi fiesta in Pujilí, to compliment our first post.

The Friday parade was made up of local education institutions, so there were kids of all ages – from tiny toddlers to teenagers to young adults. It was quite amazing to watch the dedication, which many of these youngsters displayed. We were particularly impressed by some of the young boys, often not older than 6 to 8, trying to balance one of the large head pieces (the crowns) of el Danzante and, at the same time, keeping pace with the moving group in the typical dance rhythm.

Please click thumbnails below for a larger photo with description.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: most of the younger kids took their roles in Friday’s parade very seriously.

Fiesta in Pujilí: some of the young dancers really enjoyed themselves.

While her dad beat the traditional Bombo (bass drum) and plays the Pingullo (flute) this cute little girl walked proudly beside him.

Fiesta in Pujilí: some of the littler ones looked almost overwhelmed by all the activity.

Fiesta in Pujilí: this serious-looking young boy was all dressed up as a traditional cowboy.

Fiesta in Pujilí: this little boy, all dressed up as a ‘Danzante’, couldn’t have been more than four years old.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: they might be small, but they carry their large head pieces as proudly as adult ‘Danzantes’.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: the smallest toddlers, all wearing traditional costumes, were packed into the back of some utes to participate in the parade.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: well, I couldn’t escape this invitation to dance with the small ladies.

Cute little devils at the fiesta in Pujilí.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: this boy looked (and behaved) like an adult disguised in a little body – except that he loved his sweets.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: this dreamy looking girl was lucky to be seated on one of the very few floats in Saturday’s parade.

Fiesta in Pujilí: this saxophone player was part of the school band, which is said to produce Ecuador’s best musicians.

Fiesta in Pujilí: some of the ‘young ladies’ in Saturdays parade were really dressed up.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: some of the kids in Sunday’s parade.

Saturday’s parade consisted of invited groups from all over Ecuador, and some from the neighbouring countries. These were often led by the youngest, followed by some dignitaries and musicians, and then the main performers. What stood out the most on Saturday was the variety of costumes, colours, and dance styles.

A tough (and proud) little Danzante

Fiesta in Pujilí: I think his head piece was nearly as tall as he was – without the bowler hat.

Here he is again, earlier in Sunday’s parade.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: despite the smiles somehow the mood in Sunday’s parade was a little more sombre.

To get any close-ups on Saturday I had to squeeze in between the moving rows, focus on one person, and at the same time walk carefully backwards to keep pace with their performance – quite a task. At one stage, while trying to get a photo of a group of elderly men playing the typical drum and flute, I was almost run down by a wild guy on a horse, galloping down the street – much to the amusement of the watching crowd (but not mine)…

Please click thumbnails below for a larger photo with description.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: can you imagine to keep dancing, along uneven cobbled streets, for well over 4 hours?

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: this teenage boy was obviously proud to be one of the leading ‘Danzantes’.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: don’t ask us about the significance of these black masks. There were also some black painted faces in Saturday’s parade.

The bombo drum is almost always decorated with some fruit and/or vegetables on top. In the background a large group of male ‘Danzantes’.

Fiesta in Pujilí: when I photographed these old musicians I was nearly run down by a horse – it really shocked me…

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: for more photos of this colourful dance group see our other gallery.

This was the only all-white dressed dance group in Saturday’s colourful parade.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: I’ve seen a few girls with fanciful glitter eye liner.

I think I saw only one or two other clowns as part of the parades in Pujilí.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: the Amazonian males looked quite serious in their performance.

Another indigenous group in Saturday’s Corpus Christi parade in Pujilí.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: this group came from the Amazon lowlands – as you can see by their colourful body painting. The leopard was quite a sight (but never stood still for a good photo).

The parade on Sunday was a different affair again: this was the main day for the indigenous people from the canton of Pujilí. The day presented a bit slower pace; maybe because everybody was a little tired from the previous full days and nights, or maybe because more alcohol was handed around. The costumes were as colourful but often less elaborate and some didn’t look as new. The overall spirit was again quite celebratory. This day was focussed on thanksgiving, so many of the older people carried fruit and handed some as gifts to the spectators.

Please click thumbnails below for a larger photo with description.

Fiesta in Pujilí: the woman in the centre back has the most amazing face (in our opinion).

Sunday’s Corpus Christi parade was an event for the indigenous people of Pujilí; quite a few characterful older faces.

Most people in Sunday’s Corpus Christi parade held out fruit…

…if they didn’t hold a bottle of alcohol in one hand and a drinking glass in the other.

One of the elderly couples leading a group in Sunday’s parade.

Young and old came together for the final day of Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: another one of the head pieces in Sunday’s parade, full of peculiar, mismatched objects.

The head pieces of the ‘Danzantes’ in Sunday’s Corpus Christi parade had a lot more strange-looking things attached to them – an orgy of kitsch.

Corpus Christi in Pujilí: this man proudly held onto his staff.

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