[MUSIC PLAYING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: We're in Nazca, Peru and we're going to
show you something crazy.
It's called scissor dancing.
And we're going to have to go way, way off the beaten track
to see it in it's true form.
My co-pilot for this trip will be Anthony.
Hi, buddy.
What's up?
How you doing?
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Fine, thanks.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Let's get on the road because we got a long
journey ahead of us.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Yup.
Let's go.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: All right.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Oh, boy.
Goodbye, pavement.
Dirt roads here on in.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: So, we're lucky enough to take these
dusty roads and find ourselves in Andamarca, which is a
remote village in the Andes.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: OK, so we're going to be in a really
authentic place--
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Yeah.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Not in fucking Lima.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Yeah, exactly.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Amazing.
So Krishna, are we going to see scissor dancer?
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Yeah, scissor dancing.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: What is that?
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: It's a centuries old tradition where
two dancers and two musicians play.
The dancers wear elaborate costumes and they hold
scissors in one hand.
They do really death defying sort of acts of great daring.
Just sort of crazy shit.
The origins of scissor dancing are kind of mysterious too.
Like in the 16th century when the conquistadors came around
and saw them doing these feats of strength, endurance.
And they thought to themselves, man, these guys
must have made a pact with the devil in order
to keep this up.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Pact with the devil, cool.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Yeah.
I'm actually starting to feel a little
nauseous on these roads.
We've been going up and down and we're
like, dusty and windy--
ANTHONY VERLAINE: And the altitude, like 5,000 meters
height now.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: (COUGHING) Maybe that's why
I'm coughing so much.
We've made it to Andamarca, a tiny remote village high in
the Peruvian Andes.
We're at an elevation of something like 12,000 feet.
The journey was arduous.
And honestly, we feel like shit.
I'm going to go meet our troop of scissor dancers alone
because Anthony was feeling so badly that he has to lie down
and take some more oxygen.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Is it a competition, the dance?
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: And so we're going to collect supplies for
the competition?
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: So what are you going to do with the
needles and the worms?
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Their butts?
MALE SPEAKER: Yeah.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: During our walk, the group explained that
cactus needles and another sharp objects are used to
prove the dancer's resistance to pain.
The team that performs the most extreme feats would be
deemed victorious by the town.
What's the meaning of scissor dancing?
What significance does it have both to your culture and to
yourself personally?
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: One question I've
always had is why scissors?
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Uh-huh.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: So all day today Anthony was in bed
because he succumbed to what seemed to be altitude sickness
at first, but might be something a
little bit more serious.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: I feel really sick because of the
altitude, so our driver tries some local medicine on me.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: It's the morning of the competition.
And we're headed up a hill overlooking the town so the
group can practice for tonight.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: From what I understand you don't actually
live in Andamarca anymore.
You live in Lima.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: I can't wait.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
ANTHONY VERLAINE: I survived.
Krishna, Krishna, Krishna.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Good to see you, buddy.
How you feeling?
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Better.
Much better.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Good.
Good.
You ready to find some moves?
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Definitely ready.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Awesome.
That's great.
How was the hospital?
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Weird.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Weird.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Terrible at this.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Yeah.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Jump, go like that, jump, [INAUDIBLE]
toes.
Jump like that.
That's going to be impossible for us.
Do you want to give it a try?
Here we go.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: OK.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Oh, look.
They're starting.
Ola.
Remember this song?
Remember that move?
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Yeah.
I do remember.
We almost died on it.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Yeah, we almost died doing that move.
So we're here at the town square where a bunch of the
towns people have gathered to watch these two teams of
dancers go at it head-to-head in a series of escalating
one-upsmanship kind of moves.
Wow!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Wow.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: It looks like they've started the
second part of the competition.
So we'll have our eyes out for needles, and back flips, and
any kind of things that they're going to do.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Bravo!
Some guy just came and whipped us a few times.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Ow!
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Ow!
I think we're not supposed to cross this line.
But honestly, I have no idea.
And the whipping had increasing--
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Actually, I like it.
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: You kind of liked it?
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: He's going to wear it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Yes.
Jug head.
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[LAUGHTER AND CHEERING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Now they're starting to ramp this up.
They're bringing out nails, knives, and other crazy stuff.
Oh, boy.
They're spilling their blood as a sacrifice to the Apus.
In return, the mountain God relieves them of their pain.
The crazier the stunt, the less pain they feel.
Oh, I got to drink more booze.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANTHONY VERLAINE: I'm pretty sure one of the guys is going
to pass away before the end of the contest.
Because they do the craziest things with their head.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: So let's put some costumes on.
Come on.
ANTHONY VERLAINE: Where?
Where?
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Oh, my balls.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: That got a good laugh.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: Yeah, Anthony!
[LAUGHTER AND CHEERING]
KRISHNA ANDAVOLU: This is something that's off the
beaten track.
We had to travel through dusty roads, brave
elevation, brave sickness.
But we really saw scissor dancing in its purest form.
And we have to really thank everyone for making us feel so
at home and making us feel part of their living tradition
of scissor dancing.
So gracias!
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
[SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]