Angie, Mandi, and I with the big head guy outside the stadium! The festival was free, and the stands were packed. It took place in the Plaza del Toro (where the bull fights happen) and the energy in the stadium was unreal! As it is a competition that lasts for 5 days, we got to watch quite a few different groups perform. It was a concert-type experience like I've never seen before! Everyone was there for the love of the music, there were no fights breaking out like at North American concerts- everyone was so friendly!
So many people out to celebrate the Pacifico! The absolute best part of the festival (besides the music) was the dancing!! People were up dancing, waving their bandanas (of which I bought a neon green one, of course), swinging their hips, feeling the beat the drums. When a song really had the crowd going, the entire stadium would simultaneously erupt in, "Hey! Hey! Hey!", throwing their hands and bandanas up in the air.
And it gets better.
For those who know me, you know that I love choreographed dancing. And you know that it would be a dream come true for people to just break out into spontaneous dance routines. IT HAPPENED. In the pit of the stadium in front of the stage, groups of people would just break out into dance! It wasn't completely choreographed, but everyone seemed to know what the moves were. Someone at the front would start it, and more and more people would join in! Sometimes there were groups of up to 50 people all dancing the same thing! Sometimes there were up to 4 different groups doing different dances at the same time. IT MADE MY NIGHT!! I wanted to go down there so bad, but you had to be VIP, and I didn't feel like trying to seduce the guards to let me in :)
Check out the people dancing in the pit!
The other interesting part of the night? Crema de viche. Colombians like to make their own type of "moonshine" by fermenting sugarcane. There are a few different types, but we got the one that was creamy and had some sort of other peanut extract. This stuff is absolutely repulsive. You're supposed to just take shots of it, and every time I did I almost gagged. Why did I continue to take shots you ask? Because 1. I felt like I wouldn't have a 'true' Colombian experience if I didn't, and 2. Everyone else was doing it...haha. But seriously, it's crazy because there were so many different people selling this stuff. They make it from home, you don't know who these people are, and they're just allowed to sell it publicly at the venue.
Holding the (disgusting) crema de viche and a sweet fan they gave out to the ladies. It had a "mirror" on one side just in case you wanted to check yourself out- too bad it was like looking at foggy aluminum foil.The Patronio was such a fun experience, and I'm so happy I was able to go! Good music, good company, AMAZING dancing!
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