Nicaragua: To be a rainmaker

"Let's go to the Caribbean," we decided. For some, it took a hefty 8+ hour trip to arrive to our destination. I was the lucky one this time around with a simple hour-long boat ride down the river. What was the occasion for our reunion? Answer: a coastal celebration called "Tulululu." 

All throughout the month of May, the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua dances up a storm with various Maypole (or "Palo de Mayo") festivities. This part of the country is known for its joyful May celebrations, and we could not miss out on what we have been hearing so much about. 

The Maypole celebration derives from the British tradition of celebrating the arrival of spring on the first day of May, a month when the rainy season starts in Nicaragua (and thank goodness the rain has finally started). It is said that the Maypole tradition arrived around 1850 due to the influence of English settlers in the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast. In the beginning, a tree (known as "Palo de Mayo") was cut down, decorated with fruits and ribbons, and then placed in a square where men and women danced around it. Over time, the original British tradition was accompanied by African musical rhythms. The festivities culminate on the evening of May 31 when thousands of people take to the streets in a massive parade called "Tulululu," in which the people dance to drums and trumpets along the main streets of Bluefields. 

This video shows a demonstration of the Tulululu traditional dance: 

And so it went. Thousands gathered in the streets to dance Tulululu, parading from one neighborhood to another, some carrying small decorated trees, some beating on drums, and others forming human tunnels for the rest to pass under. It finished with a massive street dance, and by the end of the event everybody was drenched from the rain.  

It was a good life experience.