As I walked over to the Centro Arte para la Paz this morning - five blocks from my house - I passed a wedding procession with the bride in full length white satin with a train which her attendants were trying hard to keep up from the cobblestones. Her family was escorting her to the church, where the groom would meet her. A block later, at the school grounds, a group of drummers was practicing along with a group of baton twirlers, and somewhere out of sight a larger drum was sounding.
Then in the Centro Arte a large group was gathered, kids and adults, to watch a demonstration of capoeira, the Afro=Brazilian dance/martial arts form. The movements of capoeira are sinuous and agile, using cartwheels and handstands; the dancing/sparring pairs work within a framework of ritual and discipline that is very beautiful to watch. Then they began to teach the group a few of these moves (photo above)
So that was this Saturday morning in Suchitoto: three different kinds of rituals playing out on these cobblestone streets: the bride moving slowly toward church, the baton twirlers practicing their act, the capoeira dancers cartwheeling in pairs. Joy in motion.
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