Men in drag, cutting satire, and kids in make-believe highlight Saturday’s masquerade parade

Old politicians were one of the targets of the masquerade parade.

There were no sacred cows at Saturday night’s Day of the Innocents masquerade parade on Av. Huayna Capac.

Rafael Correa is the butt of this skit.

Tens-of-thousands crowded the sidewalks on the eastern limit of the historic district to watch the annual costume parade that is always heavy on the satire. Sponsored by Amistad Club of Cuenca and the Azuay Union of Journalists, the parade included entries from two dozen civic organizations, schools and universities, as well as several Cuenca families.

The children had a good time too.

Among the favorite targets were the politicians involved in the Odebrecht scandal and the administration of former president Rafael Correa. Unflattering likenesses of Jorge Glas, Correa’s jailed vice president, President Lenin Moreno, and Cuenca Mayor Marcelo Cabrera were also included in the mix.

There was even a poke at elderly expats in the form a doddering Uncle Sam, walking with a cane, bearing a “I love Cuenca” sign.

As is the tradition, the parade also allowed many local men to fulfill one of their keenest passions: to dress up as women.

In addition to the lampoons, the parade included a variety of monsters, goblins and devils, as well as dance and music and children from local schools dressed in fairy tale costumes.

A number of diabolic characters also made an appearance.

As did these scary women on bicycles.

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Photos from El Mercurio