Santa Ana – Day 6: Folk Rhythms
SANTA ANA
Day 6: Folk Rhythms
October 26, 2022
The following morning, Andreas and I bid each other farewell as we both went our separate ways. We promised we’d try and meet up sometime soon, and for once, I actually meant it. I really did want to see him again
I spent my last day in Santa Ana going around the city once more, checking off the few remaining things I still had on my list – and others that weren’t. One of them was somewhat of a chore: I decided to cut my hair. I had promised myself I’d grow it out over the eight-month-long trip, but after a few months, I was done.
You see, growing my hair out was supposed to be freeing – feeling the wind in my hair, trying out a new look, having surfer-style tresses. Basically, anything Gaga mentions in her song with the same name. But I just couldn’t anymore. I’d look at photos I featured in and feel this weird compulsion to delete them. It’s probably just a phase, but I was over it. So I shaved everything off and honestly felt freer than ever. Like that, I could feel the wind directly on my scalp, which is way better. I do feel a bit bad for giving up on a lifelong goal – but I was happier for it, if I’m being completely honest. So yeah – new hair, new me.
El Salvador’s Folk Rhythms
Now free of my keratin load, I went on roaming aimlessly in the city I’d grown to love so much. I spent my day wandering around the streets and sitting idly by in the square and random parks I’d find. In the evening, I decided to give myself a gift – a ticket to traditional folklore dance show taking place in the Teatro de Santa Ana.
As expected, the show was a vibrant expression of the country’s indigenous, Spanish, and African heritage – with the dancers clad in beautifully exuberant and colourful costumes as they danced to upbeat music featuring marimba, guitars, drums, and sometimes flutes. Many of the dances, as explained during the show, depict historical stories, rural life, religious syncretism, or agricultural traditions. Needless to say, the entire show had me smiling and clapping like a blithering idiot throughout!
¡Nos Vemos, Santa Ana!
I was trying to take in every single detail before I’d have to say goodbye – cause just like that, my time in Santa Ana was up too. I’d be saying goodbye to the city, and, most painful of all, to the Brunettes – who by the end felt kinda like family.
Andreas, Victor, William, and Brenda had made my stay in Santa Ana all the more pleasant. It’s funny how back in Malta, I never thought I’d want to meet with people and form these lasting relationships while on the go. I just wanted peace, solitude and serenity. But now? Now I found myself almost unable to not hang out with random people I’d encounter on my daily travels. By connecting to people, travelling is such a deeper experience than it otherwise would be.
But the deal with travelling is that you also have to move on, which, as I’ve come to learn, is kinda what keeps it so compelling. Meeting new people and new places, falling in love with them, and then moving on.