Feria is a fun time for all. People travel from distances of sometimes over an hour to go to feria. Here, a man walks the lonely road that ends in the happiness that is feria.
A few days before feria actually begins vendors begin to arrive. At every feria there are people that sell these cookie/bread rings. They arrive with huge baskets of them and people seem to love them...
A carousel for the kids...
Local men chat about local business...
The ferris wheel is always a big hit...
And of course feria food! Here, Cali, Charlotte and Sara enjoy 'elote loco', crazy corn-on-the-cob. It's corn covered in any combination of mayonnaise, ketchup, hot sauce and a parmesan-esque cheese.
However, the highlight of any feria is the music and the dancing. Most ferias have "El Baile de Disfrases", the costume dance. This is an extra big deal where Nic lives in Chujuyub and this year, we were fortunate enough to be asked to participate. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into...
After two nights of two hour practices (we skipped the third night), we went to rent our costumes.
The Aztec King and the Aztec Goddess.
Getting ready with all the other dancers. All the costumes were elaborate like ours. The crowd had gathered outside by 8:30 a.m. and the live music, "Los Conejos Internaciónales de Marimba", The International Marimba Rabbits, was bumpin'.
It was show time. Even our costumes couldn't disguise us. We were head and shoulders above the other dancers and the band repeatedly announced that there were gringos dancing. (Thanks Cali for the photos!)
We danced in a big, dusty field with around 50 other people participating. 
The dance moves were not complicated and definitely did not require the three nights of two hour practices. Circles...
Lines...
After two hours we were released for a short break.
And this is how we felt: tired and sweaty. These costumes were hot and stinky.
One of Nic's buddies. He was drunk, like many Guatemalan men choose to be at 11 a.m. during feria. He was excited to see us dancing and offered us cold Cokes that tasted so very good.
We were a sort of celebrity with the kids, some of whom Nic works with in the schools. Also some of our friends, here Cali, came out to watch the action. We danced for another two hours and couldn't take anymore. Many of the dancers were smarter than us and shared the costumes with another pair, so they only danced half that time. There were some though that danced until 6 p.m. that night. We learned that El Baile de Disfrases is something many Guatemalans take very seriously. During a break, we saw one man having his calves massaged by his wife while he stood rehydrating himself.
And of course no feria, at least for Nic and I is complete without the recuerdo. A guy behind the camera made me laugh.
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