Between gray skies and black asphalt, Bogotá's Metropolitan Comparsas Parade was a riot of color. Groups from all over the city and the surrounding area participated in the procession that made its way along Carrera 7, from the Parque Nacional to the Plaza Bolívar.
Jugglers and jesters dressed in fluorescent greens and reds mixed and mingled with performance artists representing of death and misery. The day was a constant contrast between the gay and the grim, with dancers cavorting down the street with robotic police from a dark future goose-stepping along on their heels. Spectators lining the parade route could feel their bones shake with the heavy bass beats of trash-can bands jamming out as they cruised through the city.
Many of the groups involved in the parade kept their contributions to the spectacle simple and inexpensive, but used the materials they had in infinitely diverse, creative ways. Empty soda bottles became drumsticks for one band, while a squad of green-clad divers swimming down the street turned them into scuba tanks. Garbage cans and empty oil drums were transformed into drums of a different sort, with each adding its own unique voice to the cadence.
As one expects in Bogotá, rain came down intermittently throughout the afternoon. However, it couldn't dampen the spirits of either the artists or those who lined the streets to see them.
