Festival of St John at new Waldorf school 'Selva Azul' in Tarapoto

Lourdes has been helping a group of parents and teachers to get a new Waldorf school in our nearby city of Tarapoto up and running.  It now has 27 children with 10 in the kindergarten,  In grades 1-2 there are five and in 4-6 grade there are twelve.

After much wrangling with corrupt officials who wanted cash payoffs (such is life in Peru) the official permission to operate was granted a few days ago.  Lourdes used sweet talk, pursuasion and her many contacts to get the licence made legal without resorting to bribes, thereby proving it can be done.  In Peru the corruption happens at the kindergarten level - all very obvious.  In the USA and elsewhere it's more like PhD level - covert and harder to spot.

Yesterday we celebrated the Festival of Saint John which is also a solstice celebration and happens in all the 1000+ Waldorf schools worldwide. Usually it involves a huge bonfire but here in the Amazon that would be too hot so in general the people celebrate St John's day by going to the river.  In this part of the Amazon basin St John's day is a big deal, everyone celebrates it and there is even a special food item called a "juane" which is seasoned rice, chicken, olives and egg all wrapped up and cooked inside a particular large leaf which inparts a delicious flavor.  In our case at the new Waldorf school we planted a new banana tree in the center of the lawn and decorated it with hanging gifts as well as decorating the whole of the school and playground.

A traditional Amazonian band consisting of two drummers and a 'clarin' -a small clarinet- was hired from Sauce and parents. teachers and children all danced around the tree for hours wearing typical Amazonian native outfits.  In the case of Mercedes the first and second grade teacher who is from the Shipibo tribe it is her normal everyday dress.  No dressing-up necessary.  That's Mercedes in the purple top.