I can’t remember for the life of me what I was searching for when I stumbled upon this old Venezuelan gondola dance party blog post by a Californian photographer, Ron Lussier.
It’s a long post but the part that got me wasn’t the dancing Latinos or the old ladies with the bottle of 103-proof brandy, but the fact that the music came from a cassette player in the cabin which means that yes, the gondola had a stereo system which played tapes, and yes, someone was carrying such a dance tape with them.
Actually, all of those area amazing and the post was made in 2000… so I quote:
“Then an alarm sounds across the mountain. It’s 2pm, and the last car is heading down the mountain. We get inside and pack into the car for the descent. The car is filled with rosy-cheeked Latinos, many of whom have probably experienced cold weather for the first time. I’m seated on a bench with two elderly ladies. One of them pulls out a bottle of 103-proof brandy and takes a swig right from the bottle. Her friend does likewise. They giggle like naughty schoolgirls.
Gondola Party! by Ron Lussier
The car starts downwards, and someone pops a cassette into the gondola’s stereo system. Some Latin pop song starts playing, and nearly everyone in the car starts singing along. The folks standing in the aisle begin to dance. It’s a party!
The entire way down the mountain, the group sings, dances, and jokes. In New England, this same group would be standing stoically watching the scenery go past. If anyone spoke, it would be in whispers to their companion. Music would be out of the question. But here it’s a spontaneous party. When we reach a station and move from one gondola to another, the cassette is brought along, and the attendant happily pops it in, continuing the party. Approaching Mérida, I’m sorry it has to end.”
(Now, to be fair, a Canadian crowd would probably act in the same way as the New Englanders. Sad, but true.)
A brief search on the Merida gondola reveals that the system was built in 1960 after being designed in 1952 by a group of climbers. It was shut down in 2008 due to age, but is under going modernization and may be open for testing as soon as August 2012.
Let’s hope that the upgrades still include a kick ass stereo system, or at the very least an ipod dock…