Día De La Independencia

Today, Costa Rica celebrates 189 years of independence from Spain. Back in 1821 this meant that Costa Rica (and the rest of Central America) could adopt their own constitutions and start holding their own elections. Today, it equals a day off from work and one hell of a parade.

I woke up around six this morning to the sound of tubas and drums coming from the street outside my window.  The parade didn't officially start until 8a.m., but the Ticos have been practicing for this all week. Last night was the faroles festival, when everyone carries candle lanterns to the town center to see dancing and listen to some patriotic music. We bought our faroles on the street, but a lot of kids had ones they had clearly put a lot of time into making.

Me with my lantern, ready for the faroles festival.

 Today there was a lot more dancing, and every school in town came out to put on a show. There were little girls dancing flamenco (led by their whistle-tooting teacher) and young caballeros throwing lassos. Baton twirlers marched behind xylophone players and cheerleaders to the beat of a tiny drumline (and by that I mean an enormous drumline made up of little children, the sound could be heard halfway across town!).

I also had my first pipa (literally a coconut with a straw stuck in it), which I bought from a vendor in the park for 500 colones (about $1). After obsessing over packaged coconut water in the States, the real straight-from-the-coconut deal puts it to shame.

After about six hours of marching, the massive crowd finally subsided so people could go and spend time with family or congregate in the local sodas (small cafes). There was rumor of fireworks, but the rain clouds that had been threatening Ciudad Quesada all morning finally decided to release their payload sometime in the late afternoon. At least it didn't rain on our parade...