La Hipica

Since the last post was on horses, I thought I'd continue with the theme and write the long-overdue post on the "Hipica" parade here in Granada.  It happened back in early/mid-August, and was a whole day event where people from all over Nicaragua come to watch the "dancing horses" of Granada parade through the streets and where folks party until all hours of the morning.  Apparently the origins of the Hipica are religious and it is another way to honor the Immaculate Conception of Mary (we did not observe anything religious throughout the day).  Various towns throughout the country have their own hipica celebrations, but apparently Granada's is the best and most well known.

Streets throughout town are blocked off and big grandstands are set up so that people can watch the parade of horses go by. There are also "sponsored" grandstands that you must pay to get into, but you get some ridiculous amount of alcohol for your fee.  Its also possible to just stand on the street and watch them, which is what we did.  The horses are all groomed and many of the riders are dressed up as well.  The horses have a special gait/trot that they do and it appears that they are dancing (video below).  People start drinking very early (including those riding the horses) and continue celebrating the whole day. 

The parade started out by the baseball stadium on the edge of town and we went out there to see some of the horses being prepped (without all of the crowds) and also to people watch the folks gathering and drinking ahead of the parade. The people were friendly, and one guy even let Isabel sit on one of the horses.

Haulin' the horses in to get them ready.  Very few horse trailers here, they
just put them in the back of large trucks.
 

Another truck, and also the women carrying their food stands.

A cowboy drinking his beer, hanging out in the shade.

He just finished painting the hooves of this horse--a nice
pedicure before the parade.

Back in town, once the parade started, it was sensory overload.  Very loud music, lots of heat, people everywhere, food and drink everywhere....we found a corner on one of the parade blocks and tried to stay safe, away from drunken men on horses. We were there for maybe an hour, or a bit longer.  I have no idea how long the parade went on for--I believe 4 or 5 hours.  People on the horses would stop to talk to people in the crowd, to get a drink, or to rest. And there were hundreds of horses.  It was certainly an interesting experience, especially for Isabel given her love of horses, but a little too loud and drunk for my aging tastes.  Long after the parade ended, we were still able to sit out on our porch and watch the various horses and riders return from their afternoon/evening of revelry.

Children start riding horses quite young here.

An even younger child riding...