La Yunsada

“Say yes. Whatever it is, say yes with your whole heart & simple as it sounds, that's all life needs to grab you by the hands & start to dance.”

Bear with me here, because the event described in this post is a lot to take in.

One of the chief Andean ways to celebrate carnival is with a yunsada. A yunsada is a public ceremony that involves dancing around, and cutting down a tree. Yunsadas have elements of the Indian celebration of Holi, the European tradition of the maypole, and the Mexican birthday tradition of piñatas. I don't think the elements are rooted in those traditions, but if you blend those three things together you get a pretty good idea of a yunsada. Confused? Welcome to the role of cultural outsider.

We had a yunsada at the Ocongate Summer Camp. One of the other teachers and I cut down a eucalyptis tree during the morning. We dug a deep hole in the center of the lawn, and “replanted” the tree in the hole. But before the replanting, we tied all sorts of prized to the branches. Prizes included packs of cookies, various colored balloons, and individual colored markers. But I've seen things as valuable as blankets strung up on trees at yunsadas put on by towns.

In the afternoon, the kids who had tradition clothing dressed up. Some kids had bought colored powder at the corner store and threw it on each other (like in Holi). In case you were wondering, that's why my cheeks are so pink in the photos. Then we lined up in two lines (boys and girls). A teacher turned on the music and the kids danced onto the lawn forming two concentric circles around the tree. There were so few girls, that the two circle plan was quickly abandoned for a one circle plan.

We danced around the tree for a while (like a May pole). Finally it was time to start cutting it down. The cutting works like this: a man and a woman step into the middle of the circle and dance together for a short bit. Then they each get 2 swings of the axe to try and fell the tree. Our students were no Paul Bunyans. So it took a looong time to cut the tree down. Like over 2 hours. When the tree was finally cut down, the students swarmed it looking for prizes (like a piñata). Fun was had by all.

The yunsada is an example of the joys of being invited to participate in a cultural space. We obviously aren't Andean, but we were lent ponchos to wear and each got a turn with the axe. It would not have been appropriate to jump in without such an invitation. But when the invitation comes, the best thing to do is say yes and get in there.

The quote that opened this post comes from a bracelet that my godmother gave me on my college graduation. I wear it every day on might right wrist as a reminder to say yes and mean it. It's hard to find a more literal example of the “say yes” philosophy than this one.

Anyways, here are some more pictures from the yunsada. And, yes, I did ask where the tradition comes from and it's cultural significance. No one seemed to know. But everyone had fun so does it really matter?

Putting the tree up

The tree is decorated and ready to be cut down.

Dancing around the tree.

More dancing.

Teachers enjoying the dance.

Slowing down after hours of dancing.

Enjoying the party.

Saldívar carrying a kid.

The mob of children trying to snatch prizes off the chopped down tree. 

The kids who brought the tree down.

The young profes - Saldívar, Rachel, and me.

JVs in ponchos.

Everyone in their traditional attire.