Olympus Stylus Epic | Fuji Superia 400
Puppets masked to resemble politicians are set on fire then stomped out to represent stomping out the bad spirits remaining from the old year.

I arrived in Quito on New Year's Eve, and was nervous about spending the holiday with strangers. Luckily my host family was incredibly warm and welcoming, and already had 2 friendly students staying with them. We cooked together, drank and danced with the children, and went outside to light fireworks. It was a perfectly sweet first night in Ecuador.