IN STEREO

We always pray to the spirit. We always believe in the pachamamas. We are always praying, asking of the Lord. Like yesterday, it was [the day of] St Peter. We are always believers in that. That's what we believe. If we believe, we do well, and if we do not believe, it is not going to go well. We start with comadres [festival]. The comadres are more cheerful than the compadres, and we have a good party, yes! Sharing with everyone. Because if we are not going to be happy, what will become of us? So we must know how to share in everything. Well, we come here in the morning, we prepare, we sell, we put up our balloons [and] streamers; we throw confetti. At two, three in the afternoon, one invites people for a drink; another invites. We get tipsy. There is music.

We start to dance – our celebration of us. There are times we tie up a stone: we put a quince on it, we put the flags, the confetti on it. We wrap it all up. Everyone who comes, goes to ch’alla (that's what we say) the Pachamama. Every person who comes to our homes gives her a little of their wine and their singani, there on the ground. We put it right there and they go ch’alla there. And if you do not ch’alla it, and you do not have faith in the Pachamama, the sales are going to go badly. So it’s sacred, our Pachamama. Say we chew coca in the name of the Pachamama: the coca gives us more courage. There are times, say, when we do not eat. But the coca maintains us, gives us strength, gives us courage. And that is what we do, and it’s daily. For us, Pachamama is sacred. – Doña Carmen