Nuevo Chimbote is celebrating it's 16th anniversary right now which means lots of concerts, games, food, rides, and fun. On Monday night we thought there was going to be a big concert in the Plaza Mayor of Nuevo Chimbote so I headed out with a few friends only to find out it was the following night. There was however a boxing ring set up with different ages and weights competing. So we watched a few matches and then headed over to the fair grounds. I always love fairs. There's just something so fun about the bright lights, rides, people playing games that cost all their money for crappy prizes, and the food. Oh, gotta love fair food... While the fairs here do not have the giant turkey legs or deep fried twinkies and oreos they do have chocolate covered marshmallows with sprinkles (which I of course bought and loved! only 1 sol for a stick of 3-4), caramel apples, chocolate covered apples, churros, cotton candy, popcorn, lollipops, fried chicken and french fries, anticuchos (skewered cow hearts... I know sounds gross but it's actually pretty tasty if you don't think about what it is), and hamburgers.
They also have some unique games and rides. One popular fair game is a table that is marked into a grid with each box containing a different amount. You throw a sol (peruvian coin) onto the table and if it lands in a box without touching one of the sides you win the amount. This is near impossible of course because the boxes are small and the borders thick. Then there is this ride that is a giant circle/plate. There are benches that line the circumference on the inside but nothing to hold onto except the bars behind the benches that also line the circumference. The point of the ride is to not fall while the operator spins it around and jerks it back and forth trying to throw people off basically. Yeah.... can you imagine this ride in the U.S.? With liability there is no way. But it was by far the most popular ride and we enjoyed watching a few rounds of riders try and hold on for dear life. The rides were expensive (relatively for my budget) at 5 soles a piece so I didn't go on any rides, but enjoyed observing.
We went back again last night for the big concert and I had no idea until we arrived just how popular the main band was. It was packed! The headliner was a pretty popular rock band and I think all of the youth in Nuevo Chimbote and many from Chimbote were at the concert. It was kinda crazy but also fun to see and be reminded of concerts I went to when I was younger in high school. Kids are kids anywhere, no matter what country. The music was good but I got tired standing for two hours... I'm just not as young as I once was :) When the headliner band started we decided to move because all of the youth were pushing and shoving everywhere. So we went further back and listened to a few songs then headed back to the fair to walk around a bit before heading back home. It was a fun night in seeing how Peruvians celebrate with fairs and concerts and noticing the similarities and differences to being back in the States and going to a fair.
paz y amor
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