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It was the best Fourth of July ever! I decided at the last minute to go to Chichicastenango and buy some fireworks so we could celebrate properly. There being no restrictions on such things here, we were spoiled for choice of dangerous projectiles. There are two primary types of fireworks available year-round: large chains of ferocious firecrackers, and home-made mortar rounds known as "bombas". The bombas are basically bundles of gunpowder the size of either an orange or a grapefruit, depending on how many neighbors you want to irritate. Each bomba has a reassuringly long fuse attached. I bought a good amount of both sizes of bombas, an armful of firecrackers, and some sparklers. When we got back to Lemoa I went to the local Catholic church to borrow their mortar, but it turns out they don't own one. This was odd, because most large Catholic churches in the area use mortars regularly. Anyone who has stayed in Chichi for any amount of time will verify this. In fact, the main Catholic mission in Chichi has a mortar built right into their front steps! |
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In Lemoa, though, no mortars could be found. Later in the evening, however, the Hogar's caretaker Romeo somehow rounded up two mortars, one for each different sized charge. We were ready! But first a special dinner: Elisa made hamburgers, which we ate accompanied by Ritz Crackers spread with peanut butter. How American can you get? Then it was dark and the show was on. Féderico and I went down to the patio with our boxes of gunpowder. The rest of the children watched safely from above.
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Las
bombas
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| Féderico offered me the matches so I could start the show.
I dropped a small bomba into the mortar, lit the fuse and sprinted
away. The fuse burned down in about 2 milliseconds and there was a
huge blast and shower of sparks as the primary charge detonated. The
bomba shot up into the stratosphere, whence the secondary charge exploded.
This, I'm sure, most of the Quiche region heard. The sound echoed
off the mountains for a long time before Féde and I slowly
emerged from behind the retaining wall where we had sought refuge.
What with bombs literally "bursting in air" our Guatemalan celebration of the 4th was probably the most realistic reenactment of the Revolutionary War I have ever witnessed. It was certainly the most involving. We were almost chased off the patio by a particularly aggressive string of "Puma" firecrackers. After seeing how little escape time the seemingly long bomba fuses allowed, Féderico and I were soon kindly reminding each other when it was the other's "turn" to light the next one. It was an exciting business. Once the main show was over, the children were all given sparklers. They enjoyed these immensely, and nobody caught anything on fire. Later some of the boys took flashlights down to the patio to search for unexploded ordinance. They found some and disposed of them as you might expect. Happily no fingers were lost. |
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