Viva!

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I’m sitting in the spare bedroom, Segi is on my lap, and we’re listening to a party that has been going on since early this morning, since about 4. All of September here is pretty much a huge party. Yesterday was Independence Day, and let me tell you, it put the United States to shame (something that Mexico does a lot, actually). Maybe this is just unique to Denver, maybe it is different across the United States, but most of my fourth of Julys have consisted of barbecuing, watching fire works, and setting off fireworks. There never really included anything particularly patriotic, except for the few years I was the statue of liberty in the Southern Hills 4th of July parade (which, by the way, I hated). I can’t think of a song that I heard on Independence Day other than the national anthem, I can’t think of any specific area or reenactment that goes on in the United States to commemorate our independence. San Miguel is known as the cradle of Mexican independence, since this is where “El Grito” was and where the revolution was planned. Maybe that’s what makes this celebration here so wonderful. However, I was also watching Mexican T.V. and the main square in Mexico City was absolutely full of people. They had a reenactment of “El Grito” just as San Miguel did. It made me really yearn to be Mexican. This festival was amazing. The center of town was full of people. Almost everyone had Mexican flags. Almost everyone had at least part of their face painted. It was so crowded that you couldn’t really move a step in either direction. As soon as the doors to the Allende house opened (which is where they, word for word, reenact the Grito), all you could see above your head were Mexican flags. It was a sea of green and red and white and people yelling. There are no words to describe something like this. I have never in my life been anywhere in the United States where people are all gathered together like that, nor have I ever been around that many flags. They did the Grito, and it ends with cheers, basically. The person doing the Grito (the mayor in this case) says something along the lines of Viva Allende, Viva Hidalgo, Viva Aldama, Viva Mexico, and Viva Mexico. After each Viva the mayor says, so after Viva Allende, the entire center of the city, in unison, yells Viva!. Again, I have never been in a place in the United States with that many people gathered for that sole purpose of celebrating (except maybe for a concert, but that is very different). There’s just something to be said about over 2,000 people all yelling Viva Mexico in unison. If you have been to San Miguel, you understand how crowded the center was. Immediately after, the national anthem played. After the national anthem was played, there followed 10 or 15 songs that every person in the center knew and was singing too. They were all about Mexico, they all represented Mexico. I can’t think of 10 or 15 songs that to me represent the United States. During the music, the fireworks started, which, again, put to shame any fireworks celebration that I have been to in the United States. Fireworks overhead, fireworks from the top of the church, fireworks from the fence around the church, and to top it off, there were 3 “castles” of fire works. It’s what it sounds like; three towers of fireworks. Each tower of fireworks ended with the top part of the tower launching into the sky, followed by an explosion of red, green and white sparks.
I have never been so impressed in all of my life.
Mexico is such a wonderful country.

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