El Dia de Independencia...not the 5th of May

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So apparently all of us gringos out there think that Cinco de Mayo is a big holiday for Mexicans, however it is actually not that big of deal.

So apparently for us Americans who go out to eat on the 5th of May at the closest establishment with colorful lights, multi-colored tapestries on the wall, and chimichangas on the menu (which they don't even eat here) and think we are toasting margaritas to the freedom of our amigos south of the border....we are actually just looking for another excuse to drink and eat good food. As if we don't have enough of our own holidays to stuff ourselves and drink with our friends and family.

El "Grito" or the cry, is celebrated all day on Monday the 15th and at midnight the loud "cry" happens where everyone yells "Viva Mexico!" in remembrance of the cry for freedom made by Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla on that day in 1810. Well the "Grito" in the house was a little anti-climactic, but the day was filled with lots of messy fun as the kids got into teams and competed in muddy, yogurt-y, chocolate-y,...piggy fun. They ran around the house doing all kinds of games and the last task was for two boys from each team to get greased down and then proceed to chase and catch two pigs and bring them back to the starting line within 10 seconds. It was quite entertaining!

All the fun was followed by delicious special dinner with snacks afterwards, a bonfire, music, and then a movie.

Here are some of the pictures I took...I took a lot more, but I think these will show you how much fun they all had.

te quiero,
natalie

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