Jocelyn and Fanesca

Back in 2005, I read this article about fanesca and Cuenca by Calvin Trillin, little knowing would one day live here. (My fellow gringa-in-Ecuador blogger Muerta de Risa also referenced this article last year around this time and I looked but I couldn´t find the post.) Anyhow, the article is funny and describes in loving detail many aspects of Cuenca that have come to be familiar to me. Trillin also bemoans his grasp of the Spanish language in a manner in which I really identify with. He says of his placement exam in the spanish school where he signed up for classes: "I’ve spent some time since then contemplating the possibility that I might be too old for the subjunctive." Amen to that. I prefer that my teacher never teach me the subjuntive if I can avoid it.

Apart from his adventures learning the language the article details a week of eating as much fanesca as he possibly can during Semana Santa. Fanesca is the traditional fish stew that is served during Holy Week and an especially big thing in Cuenca. I ate it this year in the domestic violence shelter where I give workshops. Jocelyn, mod in her white boots and her pink sweatshirt helped me celebrate it. Thus a short photo essay dedicated to our lunch together.