El Día de Independencia!

Sullivan proudly wears his parade outfit and holds his bandera

Sitting outside on the patio listening to the loud giant toads in the light rain, I can't help feeling extremely satisfied with the richness of the experiences of this past weekend.  For us, this is the thrill of living abroad.

On September 15, 1821, Guatemala declared independence from Spain for all of Central America.  Several traditions have evolved to help celebrate this important part of Costa Rican history.  On the evening of September 14, the folks in the towns and cities gather at 6 pm to sing the national anthem all across the county.  The schoolchildren all parade with their homemade faroles (candle lanterns).  To our family, this is a great tradition, as all the kids were required to make a farole for school and were encouraged to participate in the parade.

Our faroles followed the common theme of houses

There were judges to determine the best faroles and at least one shop sold ready-made options.  We were thrilled to see all the creativity and also that the rain held off until after the parade through town around the main plaza.

Two other houses, even more elaborate

Though the faroles were great, the evening parade was more like an appetizer when compared to Sunday morning's desfile (parade).  Madeleine was meant to report to the school at 7:15 and the boys around 7:30.  But, we're becoming wise to the ways of Tico Time and made sure we were there a bit before 8.  The teachers and kids had been preparing for quite some time at school for this day.

Madeleine, adorned in her special sash, shirt and earrings

Our sixth grader had been practicing "La Marcha" pretty much every day at school for the last three weeks or so.  She'd been invited to join this group to march in the parade because of her academic achievement at school.  Henry was also invited but eventually declined when he figured out he'd have to do learn some fancy marching steps and carry a flag.  Madeleine, though, was brave and went through with the practices and marched, even if orange wouldn't have been her first choice of colors.  It was fascinating to us that there were two long meetings (a few hours total!) whose sole purpose was to figure out the color and design of their shirts, the sash and the color of the writing on the sash.  Clearly, this is a big deal and she felt quite honored though there was a bit of grousing about actually having to carry through with it all.  And yes, the girls' hair had to be braided on the left side and they all wore matching earrings and hair bands.

There was also a considerable amount of effort and energy spent in the planning of the outfits of the Sullivan's kindergarten class.  Their hats and ties were all made for them and white gloves were required.  They also practiced their marching steps, though not quite to the same extent as the older kids.  Though we're biased, we're not sure if it's possible for a group of kids to be much cuter than that class.  A special time.

Amigos

Amigas

At 8 am, all the kids, parents, teachers and just about everyone else gathered at the school entrance.  There were speeches, songs and flags that were raised.  The official anthems of Costa Rica (country), Guanacaste (province) and Tilar án (canton) were all sung.  Next, the parade began, with the preschoolers leading the way.  There were two marching bands, both comprised of girls playing xylophones and boys playing drums.  Loudly and well.  A couple of dance groups performed along the way, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.  Noticeably absent were any military bands or groups, as Costa Rica has none.  The social gathering point seems to be focused around the school and the parade included only students.  All in all, it was a fantastic time.

The kindergarten crew, with close attention from their parents

Some singing to start the morning

Proud?  Embarrassed?

I couldn't get enough of the band from their school.  None of the tunes were new to us as we can hear them practicing from our house.

Sully and his good buddy Marcos take in the end of the parade

Post-parade bliss

The events of the last two days were great spectacles for sure, but to us even more meaningful as we were participating as members of the community.  This realization was driven home near the end of the parade when two American tourists asked me if one of our kids were in the parade.  They were from Georgia, and their tour bus stopped to check out the scene.  Both Erica and I also shared big smiles, hugs and greetings with a whole bunch of folks we've come to know.  It stuck me that we are indeed becoming integrated and enjoying the cultural experience for which we came.

New friend welcoming us home