In search of tradition

Before we left for Otavalo, lots of people (including our Lonely Planet guide) told us that Otavalo would be a great place to catch local tradition in the act. One of the things that Otavalo is supposedly known for is the peñas, or folk music concerts, that light up the town on weekend nights. Being a fan of music, I was pretty enthusiastic about the idea of finding some great venues for such concerts. Yet the town had a different side of tradition to show us...
We started our cultural journey at dinner. The restaurant that we went to was called Mi Otavalito, which served up traditional Ecuadorian food. Unfortunately, the restaurant has much more to offer at lunchtime when they serve massive four-course meals (which we went back for on Sunday). My dinner consisted of a slab of chicken and french fries, and Jennifer had some ketchup-tasting ceviche (not supposed to taste like ketchup). But, about halfway through our meal, a band of musicians slowly began to assemble, tinkering around on their instruments. Then, suddenly, they erupted into the most rhythmic, energetic, awesome folklórica! What a treat - we had a peña right in our restaurant! We stayed for a few songs, and then left for a pie shop, where they served us the most amazing Apple Pie (again in well-deserved capital letters) and Raspberry Pie. I'm convinced that these pies were what the conquistadors had in mind with God, Gold, and Glory, because the Godly Golden crust and the Glorious fruit inside sent both Jennifer and I to new heights in dessert experience.
After feasting, we went in search of a peña. Unfortunately, our Lonely Planet book lied to us. Again. They don't exist. We searched high and low for the places listed in our book that promised an awesome place for folk music, but all we found were dark alleys and broken dreams. Dejected, we sulked back to our hotel, but not before running into this:
It's hard to tell in this picture, but this is a street celebration for a wedding! The women circling outside are hoisting all sorts of food wares for a nighttime feast, and the folks more in the middle are dancing and playing folklórica music. This was so cool! Jennifer and I had half a mind to follow them down the street, joining in the mirth, until we saw this:

This is a rack of none other than guinea pigs - cuyes in Spanish. These guinea pigs are being hoisted down the street alongside a similar rack of hens strung upside down. Now we know what the feast is going to feature! What made this even weirder was that all the guinea pigs and hens were ALIVE. That's right, they were wriggling and flapping and clawing at the air as they dangled. Jennifer and I both shuddered as we realized that we were in essence watching these animals' march to the guillotine. But in any case, it certainly was an interesting slice of indigenous culture that we hadn't planned on seeing!