When I first heard it, I thought it
was a prolonged cheer from one of the soccer games at the field by my
apartment. When the clanging continued, I went from window to window, trying to
see who the perpetrators were. The clanging of cowbells in short spurts is one
thing, but hearing them go on for a solid 20 minutes is more than I can endure!
Nevertheless, this clanging continued even longer than that, and I discovered
that the noise was coming from several directions: under my laundry room
window, as well as along the street in front of my apartment. I couldn’t see
who was making this irrational noise, but I was sure the purpose had nothing to
do with soccer.
The racket finally stopped in time
for me to go to bed in relative silence. When I got to school the next day, I found
out news that answered my questions about the noise. There had been protests
along “Avenida Bolivar,” the highway that connects one side of the city to the
other. My neighbors were joining in the chorus by banging pots and pans!
While I was talking to another
teacher yesterday, I learned the history of the banging of pots and pans.
Evidently, years ago in Chile, a controversial politician came to a town to
speak. Many of the people were not in favor of him, so they brought their pots
and pans into the street and banged on them as loudly as they could, trying to
drown out his voice during his speech! Ever since, the clanging has been a
symbol of opposition against the government.
* * *
When I first witnessed the protests, I had expected the unrest would only last for a couple of days or so. It has now been 11 days since our lives here in Valencia were disrupted. I have yet to teach a full classroom of students, since there are road blocks keeping us away from the school. We pray for peace and normalcy to return.
