Friday: Grito de la Independencia at the daycare
Some of the cuteness. Marichul and her little bro, Father Hidalgo (we had three dressed up), and Aldo
Posing with the teachers. (L to R) Mari, Cinthia, Flor, Donna, Sofi, Diana, Erika, Ana, me
Rina (volunteer), Nesvi, little Ignacio Allende (Alan), and Vero
Volunteers. Rina, me, Andreas, Alice, Gabriel. "This is the first time volunteers have ever dressed up for El Grito!" Donna remarked in passing.
To celebrate El Grito de la Independencia (the shout which marked the beginning for Mexican independence from Spanish colonial rule), we all gathered in the main square to shout Viva Mexico! among other things (view the video here). Many of the children didn't quite get what exactly was going on, but it was fun all the same, because after shouting we had snacks of all kinds (pork skin two ways, pretzel-like sticks, potato chips, jello) with horchata.
In the evening we had another celebration of El Grito for church. It was a potluck with everyone bringing something to share, and everyone showed up in some version of Mexican dress or the colors of the flag (red, white and green).
Some pictures snapped by Rebeca. We played musical chairs.
Rebeca, me, Megan, Ana
Saturday: Guanajuato
On Saturday the volunteers and I left the house at 6:30am to walk to the bus station in the drizzling rain for an 1+ ride to the town of Guanajuato.
Snapshots of the city.
Guanajuato is much larger than San Miguel de Allende, and actually, there are a lot less Americans there, which is kind of a relief. It's a bit less tourist-y. Not every store sells the same overpriced "authentic" Mexican artisan wares. As Laurita would say, Guanajuato has much more variedad. 
La Pipila. We took a tram on rails up to this lookout, and right after taking this photo it started down-pouring. Gabriel, me, Andreas.
Since it was Gabriel's last weekend, we definitely made the most of the 10+ hours we had in Guanajuato! We visited the main Teatro (built in the 1900s and restored in 2004/2005), went to the Diego Rivera Museum (where he was born and lived seven years), went up to see the statue of La Pipila (legend and hero), walked all the way to the Mummy Museum (almost gave up half way there because there were so many stairs and hills), found the callejon de besos (where a small crowd gathered to cheer couples on who were kissing there?) and finally, exhausted, ate dinner at a restaurant famous for their enchiladas. Apparently it used to be an aquifer for the rainwater runoff, so you feel like you're in a bomb shelter. But the enchiladas rojas were delicious!
Alice, Andreas and I will be returning to Guanajuato in October for the international arts festival, el Cervatino. We have tickets to see a group of musicians from Veracruz that play traditional jarocho music. Since we've seen basically everything there is to see in Guanajuato, we'll probably take it much easier this time around.
Sunday: Grito de la Independencia
Sunday was the "big show" in the jardin (the main square in San Miguel de Allende). In the Volunteer House we had a potluck, with each person cooking something to contribute to dinner. Gabriel made mojitos two ways with chile relleno. Alice and I made nopales (cactus) and arroz rojo. Andreas made potato pancakes and beef. It was a feast! And Donna was so nice as to make us cinnamon buns for dessert.
At 9:00pm we left the house hoping the downpour would subside, but it just kept raining. None of us had rain jackets and Alice only had an umbrella for one. The jardin was crowded with lots of young people, although there was an older man that was so drunk he couldn't even stand up. It reminded me of my days working in Pioneer Square. We ended up ducking into a Thai restaurant/bar of all places and popped back out to watch the fireworks. It felt so dangerous because they let them off literally in the middle of the entire crowd. It looked spectacular, though! The rain really killed it. The bartenders blamed it on the hurricanes. Ugh.
Monday: Desfile
Monday was the parade to commemorate the Mexican independence movement. Students from schools in the area participated, wearing their uniforms and marching behind their banda de guerra (the drum lines were so cute! And there were a lot of female percussionists!).
The parade lasted for more than an hour, concluding with a tour of the firemen, police and national guard.
Lots of celebration, don't you think? Well, back to work now! Viva Mexico!
Great pictures.. Looks like lots of fun! xox
ReplyDeleteApril, Thank you for sharing! I love reading your blog and viewing the pictures. What an interesting and amazing life you lead. The video really captured how adorable the children you're working with are. Happy to see that you look well and content. Miss you a lot here, though! Love, Auntie Sharon
ReplyDeleteJim wanted to know if El Grito was Cinco de Mayo....perhaps you could enlighten us. I know the the latter is quite American, mostly for restaurants to celebrate, seems like. Great pictures! you look so grown-up for some reason! And the kids swinging their little legs and waving flags are so cute!
ReplyDeleteBlessings on your continuing adventure and journey in Mexico!
~Susan