The Festival De La Cultura Sinu

This festival turned out to be quite a mix of different things. I have to say it even confused me a little bit. I really enjoyed spending time in the colonial style town of Lorica though, which is definitely worth a visit just to see some of the architecture. The town is located by the riverbank of the river Sinu and used to be a very important landing point for merchant boats. Now it seems that the trade has died down a little, mainly due to the building of roads – which allowed trucks to transport the goods instead of boats. However the life and energy in the town has definitely not died down. I start seeing this as we film the fist parade of the event – again it was dance groups taking part in this march, this time a lot fewer but with a more authentic feeling to them. Especially when compared to the masses of dance groups in Valledupar which felt a touch too 'prepared'. As we arrive the dance groups were just about to get ready but there was still a steady hustle going on about them as people prepared sticks and cloth immersed in petrol to create a circle of blazing torches around the plaza. This act is meant to drive away some of the bad ghosts wandering about and also be a sign of the beginning of the festival. In order to film me arriving, Jhoy and I wander to the near-by water. There quite a few bridges spanning the river that passes through the town – and with a warm yellow color they are in lovely contrast with the green plants that were covering this particular river. The wall of this bridged was shaped wavelike and offered a perfect place for me to lie and overview the green leafed river as the sun set.

Another place I strongly recommend is the old market hall located next to the pier where the goods used to be carried to land by the strong hands of the locals. They are still selling plenty of interesting goods in that market hall. Closer to the riverbank you can sit in front of little open kitchens and overview the river while watching the meal being prepared in front of you. If you head deeper into the hall you can find plenty of spices, nuts, cacao, sesame and cinnamon among the many other things that are grown in the area.

“How much for the cacao?” I ask an old wrinkled farmer who was sitting on a wooden block in front of his produce.

“4000 a pound my friend.” He replies and smiles revealing his stumpy brownish teeth. ‘Wow, what a price! That´s hardly over a Pound.’ I think. It is rare to find good quality raw cacao, so I happily buy a little more.

“Two pounds should be enough, I’ll have one pound to eat here and the other to take back home.” I tell him, he gets up and shovels the light brownish pods onto his scale.

“That should be it.” He passes me two bags and I hand him the money. Straight away I open one of the bags and start peeling the skin off the pods, I eat so many that my fingernails nearly start getting bloody. The light bitter taste and natural flavor of cacao are something of an addiction for me. Though in the future I shall remember to fry them up a little bit to make the peeling easier and not ruin my hands. I continue onwards through the market and stop at one of the shops that catches my eye due to one of its vintage lamps reading ‘Elbe’.

“Hello, beautiful wood carvings you have here. I do a little bit of face carving when I find the time. Very interesting and detailed style that you are doing.” I say and point to one of his picture like carvings. Using a wide board and chisels he had captured the town with its main river filled with boats in a beautiful, amazingly detailed 2D carving of Lorica.

“Thank you very much.” He replies with a wide smile.

“You know the ‘Elbe’ is one of the biggest rivers in…”

“…Germany.” He finishes my sentence. “I know because it is one of my hobbies to collect these old relics and keep them intact. This one was carried here by a german boat quite a few years ago and I managed to get my hands on it.” He says with a sudden light in his eyes. “What show are you filming by the way? It is hard to overlook the cameras that seem to be following you everywhere.”

“It is a show about the festivals in the carribbean called GreenGo, you might have seen it on…”

“…of course, Telecaribe. Oh I love that show – where is la chica? I am guessing you are the next host of the show?!” He says from behind his working desk, his clothes covered with small splinters of wood.

“Haha how awesome that you know it. And you mean Jessica I guess, she has been back in the US for some time now. It’s like you said, I am the host of the second season of GreenGo.” I reply. We have a little interview about his work before parting ways. I must say it is really lovely to meet people so open and happy with their work, it left a good image of the people of Lorica in my mind.