As previously mentioned, the whole catholic world enters penitence mode this week and Cali is no different. In Seville, Semana Santa or Holy Week is played out on a grand scale and attracts hordes of tourists. Each church has a slot in the weekly timetable at which point they carry their religious icons through the streets, day and night. The processions themselves are also on a collosal scale as 40 costaleros (strong men) are required to carry the icon on a curcuit of the city which passes through the principle cathedral. Each icon is followed by 1000s of penitents in hooded outfits that bear a sinister resemblance to that of the KKK. The catholic symbolism of purity and family is illustrated in the form of the Virgin Mary whilst the pain and sacrifice of life takes the form of the passion of Christ. This is no trivial occasion, it goes to the heart of catholic life and people get very emotional, particular if its raining and the church misses its slot in the schedule. Inclement weather can mean that some churches have to wait years to play an active part in the tradition. I’m not sure that I understand or even care much for the symbolic significance of the event but as a cultural and artistic phenomena its not to be missed. The Cali version is not on the same scale as that of Seville but is no less interesting, particularly as the broad city avenues allow uninterrupted access to the entire event. Somewhat predictably, the local dignitories take pride of place at the front of the procession, the archbishop is followed by his clergy who in turn are followed by the local mayor and his principal administrators. The next group in line Im sorry to say, are the top brass in the Army who in view of Jesus lack of military service, provide an incongruent juxtaposition to the entire event. Representatives of local church communities then pass accompanied by adolescent bands playing upbeat tunes of Simon and Garfunkel and The Beatles, very much opposed to the more sombre tones common at these eveents. The entire procession passed off in less than a couple of hours and Im pleased to say that my soul felt sufficiently cleansed to kickstart my sinning almost immediately. For some reason Joni and Letycia had agreed to meet Maria Jose and her friends in a pseudo British Pub, presumably so that I would feel at home. It was a nice gesture but why anyone would travel thousands of miles for a slice of home remains a mystery to me. The principle attraction was a local band doing a typical set of cover versions of British pop bands. Meanwhile, Maria Jose was working her way though the list of cocktails including the oversized Margaret Thatcher, so called presumably because it leaves you with a bitter aftertaste and has dire longterm consequences. Needlesstosay thanks to Thatcher, I wasnt in much of a fit state to do a great deal of work the following day.
Everything closes during Samana Santa so this week has been predominantly about further reading and developing an understanding of Latin American and Colombian education system. In this context, I have made a good start on the assignment: Why poor parents choose private education for their children when a public alternative is available. Anecdotally, my new friends have indicated that the reason is clear, administrators dont send their children to public schools, consequently they dont invest in them. An analysis of the government tax and spending profiles and school test results in the public sector suggest that they have a strong case however, the argument is not quite as clear cut as first appears. As a consequence of consecutive neo-liberal governments, Colombia is in the process of privatisating and decentralising a large portion of the education system. In principal at least, the poorest will have greater access to private sector through a sophisticated system of grants, concessions and vouchers. How this system works, what percentage of the poor acquire access and what are the results, all this remains under investigation.