Feria

The big state fair is here! Thursday is Santa Cruz Day (I have no idea what that means) but I do know that I get a four day weekend to celebrate. So next weekend a group of us will be heading to LaPaz. This past weekend was the start of the fair and the big opening event is the Cattle Auction. A parent of one of my 10th graders owns a farm and is in charge of the auction. They also own an import company that imports beverages such as various whiskeys, other hard liquors and energy drinks. So after being added to the "list" we headed down to the fair to see what the auction is all about.

The night started with a "Mother's Club Dinner" at the country club by our school. The dinner invitation was for 8 pm and keeping with 3rd world country time lines, we were served dinner around 10 pm. Did you remember to lower your expectations? Did you check your common sense at the door?

We arrive at around 11 pm to find that the auction is under full swing. There is a huge "stage" with sand and bars and two vaqueros leading the cows around. The auctioneer is speed talking his way through descriptions of the cows family line, measurements and finally calling for bids. There is a book on the table with the cow stats and low and behold measurements of all body parts, including the most valuable part of a bull. 39.5 cm? Wow, now I'm even impressed. Along the wall we see a screen with the lot number and the bidding amount. What $5,000? $6,000? $13,000? Oui, now that's a bit out of my price range. As none of the teachers were in the market for a cow or bull, we just enjoyed the free flowing drinks and food (hey is this part of the cow we just saw?) and of course admired the anatomy of the cows.