There are two seasons in Cajamarca:
Rainy and non-rainy. During the months of October to April, it pretty much
rains every day for sure in the afternoon making it difficult to leave your
house without getting mud caked on your boots about 1 foot deep. However,
during the other half of the year, especially in July to September, it is
pretty dry in Cajamarca making it prime time to build houses.
As with the spirit of
generosity and togetherness that is often found in Peru, during the dry months
of the year people get together to build houses. Around my town, houses are
typically built with adobe bricks, which are made out of mud and straw then
left outside to dry until they are hard. Recently down the street from me,
there was an adobe house being built, but unfortunately the structure did not
hold up, so now it is collapsed before even getting finished.
With the 2 years that I have
been here however, I’m noticing that more and more houses are being built by
brick and cement, which obviously requires more money. But like most construction
projects in Peru, people build until the money runs out, which often results in
buildings being half done for quite some time. Regardless, there are about 4 or
5 brick houses being built in and around my town, one of which is my neighbors’
house.
Tia Shiba, I call her, is
building a house for one of her daughters on her front lawn, which is big
enough for sure. It didn’t take long for the group of peones or workers to finish the house, and I was fortunate enough
to partake in the house finishing celebration, also called the Pararaico.
Pararaicos are
typical in the sierra of Peru, as it involves a massacre of cuyes enough to feed the workers, the
family, and anyone else that shows up, as well as potatoes, soup, and chicha, a fermented corn drink. They also
involve naming a padrino or godfather
for the house, and of course drinking and hauyno
dancing until the sun comes up.
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