“In the U.S., this would be illegal,” John Schnelling tells a friend standing next to him Friday night in Cuenca’s Calderon Park. Errant sparks fly in all directions from the make-shift wrought iron fireworks launch pads less than 50 feet away as one rocket after another streaks into the night sky. Staring up at a multi-colored starburst, Schnelling, a retired fireman from Bridgeport, Connecticut, adds: “Isn’t lt fabulous.”

Cuenca’s Setenario celebration is the city’s most explosive of the year, drawing tens of thousands of spectators to the city’s main plaza. As the name implies, the event runs for seven days but it is often extended for day or two by government order.

Setenario is a celebration contrived by the Catholic Church following the Spanish conquest to replace the indigenous June Solstice observance. Despite coinciding with the European Corpus Christi observance, the blessings of priests and the sponsorship of some events by local churches, the festival bears little connection to Christian piety.

In addition to nightly fireworks shows, Setenario is also famous for the sale of sweets. More than a hundred candy and pastry stands line Calles Sucre, Malo and Cordero, each under its own canopy with tables piled high with candy, pastries and cookies. Besides attracting customers, the sweets are also popular with honey bees. Buyers beware!

Schnelling, a Peace Corps volunteer near Quito in the late 1960s, has returned to Ecuador more than a dozen times since then, timing his visits to the country’s major festivals. “Setenario is probably my favorite because I like fireworks,” he says. “Cuenca is the best place to see it since they seem to have the most firepower.”

During Setenario, 30- to 40-foot bamboo towers, called castles, are rigged with fireworks and placed in the streets around Calderon Park. Depending on the night, there may be two, three or four castles, each sponsored by a church, civic organization or individual. The towers are set off at intervals determined, apparently, on the whim of the pyromaniacs in charge of events. Typically, the towers’ explosives are sequenced to begin slowly. First, sparks fly from the tower’s lower level, blanketing the street around them. Then, burning pin-wheels gyrate, throwing off more sparks and lots of smoke. As the higher elevations of the towers ignite, firecrackers explode in a deafening rapid-fire and rockets hurtle into the sky. Invariably, there are aim problem with some of the rockets. On Friday night, two rockets scored direct hits on the front of the cathedral while another winged city hall, across the park.

When the smoke cleared, the tower that targeted the cathedral bore the incandescent message, “Glory to God.”

Schnelling figures that if the event was held in Connecticut, it would violate between 50 and 60 fire safety laws. “It’s the sort of thing your mother always told you would put out your eye -- which means that it must be exciting. This is why I’m here, of course.” The ignited towers routinely shower nearby crowds with sparks and part of the fun is watching the frenzy of onlookers brushing the embers out of their hair and off their clothing.

Remarkably, Schnelling says he has only seen only two serious accidents at the dozens of events he has attended in Cuenca and around Ecuador. “Maybe I should give more credit to the priest’s blessing,” he says.

In addition to the towers, launch pads like the one Schnelling was standing next to, send up rockets at a dizzying pace. At the same time, candle-powered, hot air globes made of paper go up at 10 to 15 second intervals. Some of the globes are six feet in diameter and carry elaborate ornamentation. On Friday night, the globes were sent up from the Carmelite convent courtyard across Calle Sucre from the cathedral and drifted directly over the park, providing perfect targets for the rocket launchers. Several globes were hit and fell to earth in flame.

According to historians, Setenario begin in Cuenca in the late 1500s under the auspices of the church and in the name of Corpus Christi, which begins on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. In Ecuador, the celebration is much more popular in the highland provinces. Different towns in the region celebrate Setenario according to local tradition. While Cuenca is known for fireworks and candy, other towns emphasize costumes, music and dancing. In Cotopaxi Province, masked dancers try to climb 12- meter tall greased poles.

Beside the fireworks at Calderon, neighborhoods around Cuenca sponsor their own parties, complete with indigenous dances, costume competition, and, of course, more fireworks.

Photo captions: Setenario castle in front of the cathedral ready for ignition; candy vendors on Calle Sucre.