the legend that i heard

i just finished being curled up and being homesick.

sitting in the lobby of the hostel where i am staying, there is a constant stream of odd latin electronica that the guy at the front desk chooses. but for some reason, in the midst of all of the international club music, the song "bulletproof" by rilo kiley just came on. i closed my eyes for a minute and pretended that i was at home. it was great.

last night, i went outside for a moment. all day there had been youth and young adults blasting reggae and painting murals in the narrow cobble-stoned street. as the sun set, the paint brushes and spray paint cans went away. a few guys brought out drums and tin cans. a young woman arrived with a group of little girls, all dressed in green and red and with stars painted on their cheeks. soon some drumming started up, and someone yelled some shrill, wild call, and the girls began dancing. it was like nothing i had ever seen. they marched in a circle, hopped onto their hands and feet like a crab, spun around and then, popped up and kicked in the air. the drumming was so strong i could feel it in my lungs and heart. little children ran among the dancing, adults clapped and intermintedly greeted one another with kisses, and the sun set. the young woman in charge of the group stepped forward and smiled. and then, in her beautiful rolling argentine accent, told the legend of the "children of the stars."

the beats became faster, and the stars came out. it was wonderful. i realized that this is something that hardly any people have seen. hundreds of miles into the interior of argentina, in the andes mountains, this secret legend unfolded in front of me. with stars with their eyes, the children danced.