Castillos

It’s a Peruvian tradition to build gigantic towers out of bamboo, some almost 4 stories high, full of firecrackers. They are arranged in sequence in different shapes and colors all connected with one fuse. They are lit at the bottom and over the course of 5-10 minutes there is a huge firecracker/light show that is an engineering masterpiece, amazingly beautiful, and as scary as shit.

Every night of the fiesta there are at least 2 castillos. Towards the end of the fiesta there were up to six. They spend the evening constructing them, and anywhere between 11pm and 1am they get lit off. If you are lucky they are accompanied by “las vacas locas” and real fireworks. La Vaca Loca is a lifesize cow made out of paper covered in firecrackers. Someone stands under it and runs around like crazy chasing after people as the fireworks shoot off. Definitely dangerous, definitely illegal in the states, definitely my favorite part of the show.

The castillos are built with shapes that spin as they spit out fire. As soon as one part dies off, the next part is lit and shooting sparks out at the crowd. You can stand as close or as far away as you want…. but be careful because if you’re not, you’ll definitely get burned. The best part of the castillos is when they shoot these bamboo circles up the in air. They spin and spin really high, until the flame runs out and they fall fast to the ground. There’s no telling where there’re going to land. Sometimes they land on the roof of the church or another building, but one night a giant one fell to the center of the plaza, hit a lamp post and then fell on a group of people. Once again, definitely illegal.

I totally plan on constructing one of these when I go back to the states.