Federación Provincial de Artesanos Profesionales del Azuay

By Donna B. McNicol -
...or Provincial Federation of Professional Craftsmen of the Azuay. We went into El Centro today to buy a washer/dryer for our new apartment. Our good friend, Emilio, was with us and we headed towards the same place we bought our stove with his assistance.

We had barely stepped out of the parking garage when we heard what sounded like a marching band. Another block, turn the corner and this is what we see!


After snapping a couple of shots, we continued down the sidewalk and realized this was a whole parade and we made it just in time to see the procession. Today the parade was to honor the professional craftsmen and trades, ranging from tailors to beauticians to leather workers to metal workers and much more. Here is a sampling of what we saw - click to enlarge any photo or check out the entire SmugMug album.

At the end there were several floats and a couple of cars. This one was really fun, the Ecuadorian version of a "Rat Rod". Notice the references to "cheese", the "corn" in the engine and the sweet little DEAD mouse! LOL! No one can say the Ecuadorians don't have a sense of humor!

With the beautiful sunny day, I just had to snap pics of the cathedrals! I never tire of their beauty...



Oh, we did get our washer/dryer picked out. Due to be delivered this afternoon and final installation tomorrow. More after that....

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