Souvenir Photo Studio, by Al Bourassa: December 2015

Monday, December 28, 2015

Monday December 28, 2015 Effigies

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Monday December 28, 2015

THANK YOU to all the new readers of this Blog! I am thrilled with the vastly increased numbers! According to the stats, I am picking up a big audience in Russia.... go figure....

So today we decided to try again with the Multicines movie passes at the only movie they allow us to use them on, "Victor Frankenstein", all in Spanish, only at 1:40pm at Millennium Mall, Monday to Thursday. Millennium is not very old and the theatre is very modern, but incredibly uncomfortable. We had popcorn and a drink and enjoyed the movie, but we were so very happy to get out of those chairs.

Another glorious December sunny day to enjoy the long wait for the #15 bus. When we got home we decided to check out the many effigies and mannequins for sale on the street near the roundabout.

The cloth effigy, with or without optional mask, is meant to hold your list of everything bad that happened to you in 2015, then, at the stroke of midnight on Dec 31 you light up the effigy along with your list. There is also a tradition of jumping the burning effigy several times but this is not recommended with flammable clothing...

The other papier-mache dolls are for decoration wherever you desire. Both the effigies and the dolls are frequently seen adorning vehicles of all sorts. They all seem to be too big for Toxic though. Maybe I should get a big-boobied effigy to ride behind me...??

I hope you enjoy the photos (from the small Samsung - not good quality). That was the day's excitement, Cheers, Al

The food court at Millennium mall

Long wait for the #15 bus

Todos Santos and the Puente Roto (Broken Bridge)

Put the dummies in a circle and make a dope ring..

I like the little papier-mache mannequins

Lots of masks to choose from... many politicians...

Effigies on vehicles are common

Lots of cartoon characters - guess who they are targeting...

Thousands of these are for sale around the city

Cristina and Christian heading home

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Sunday December 27, 2015 Oswaldo's

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Comments or purchase requests are graciously accepted at souvenirphotostudio@gmail.com.

NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.

Sunday December 27, 2015

My gosh, I seem to have picked up a whole batch of new readers for this Blog, .. welcome! It always surprises me when someone, out of the blue, tells me that they follow my Blog, especially people that I have never met. One of my readers told me that a friend of theirs in the US is a regular follower and he questions things they say with "But Al said in his Blog......" Too funny...

This was starting to be another lazy after a relatively sleepless night but the sunshine beckoned broadly, so we had to get out on Toxic.

When we finally got Cristina moving we went to the west end where she had to deliver some keys. We saw many of the effigy stands on the street to help people prepare for the New Year's Eve burning of their past woes. A couple of the dummies made up by construction crews were both laughable and interesting.

On the way back I tried to get Cristina to go on a ride somewhere, anywhere, but she was feeling lazy so I asked Christian when we got home.

He was game, so we headed east towards Paute and went quite a ways before joining the heavy traffic back to Cuenca. For the most part, drivers are courteous but there were at least 2 ignorant SOB's who insisted on passing 3 wide, putting everyone in danger. I wish there was a way to just vaporize those idiots on the spot.

We turned off at Ucubamba and drove by Oswaldo's place to find the gate open and several family members wandering the grounds. We were invited in and quickly gave Christian a cook's tour. Oswaldo and one brother have been really working to build a small suite below the treehouse and much of it has undergone an amazing transformation since the last time I was there. Oswald figured the kitchen in the suite was too small so he will leave this as a bar area and make an outside extension for the kitchen and leave. I kidded Oswaldo that he really needed another bar (because he already has about 5 of them on the property....

After enjoying the view from the treehouse we bade our farewells. From there I let Christian drive Toxic home along the Tomebamba while I enjoyed the view from the rumble seat. Christian has way more experience than me driving motorcycles so I knew I was in good hands. I love December weather in Cuenca so I hope it can drag on well into January.

I hope you enjoy the photos. That was the day's excitement, Cheers, Al

This construction site effigy is pretty rudimentary

More guys at this site, so a little more effort...

East view from the treehouse at Oswaldo's

North view

West view

Christian & Oswaldo

Christian enjoying the music and ambiance of the Country Bar

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Friday December 25, 2015 Merry Xmas

Please see more of my artworks for sale at http://saccc05.tripod.com

Welcome….. Please note that you may SUBSCRIBE below to this Blog.

Comments or purchase requests are graciously accepted at souvenirphotostudio@gmail.com.

NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.

Friday December 25, 2015

Happy Birthday Jesus and thank you for the many blessings that you have bestowed on us, our families, and our friends. Hugs to everyone.

Christmas in Ecuador is really tough,.. no snow, and no family, especially. However it is very enjoyable when we have good friends like Mark & Karen (Canadians), John & Sharon (Australians), who share their lovely homes, decorations, great food and Christmas cheer with us. The crowd of people were very supportive of Cristina and Christian and they enjoyed themselves immensely.

Three years ago, I received a Christmas tie as a Birthday gift (Jan 1) from Mark & Karen and I proudly wear it every Christmas season. I have gotten more compliments on that tie than any other piece of personal clothing.

As usual, we overeat when confronted with the traditional meal of BBQ'd turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, salads and scrumptious desserts.

THANK YOU Mark & Karen, John & Sharon, for your friendship and your generosity.

I hope you enjoy the photos. That was the day's excitement, Cheers, Al