Quince - Independence Day

So if I haven't mentioned it before, September 15th ("Quince") is the biggest non-religious holiday of the year in Guatemala because it is their Independence Day. The schools have weeks of activities preparing for it, which means I haven't worked since August. I have gone to events at the schools, but haven't done anything that relates to my program at all. It all culminated on Wednesday, and I thought I would be going back to work today, but as it turns out, there is no school today so that the teachers can rest after the parties. This gives me an opportunity to write about all the stuff that happened this week.

On Monday I went to a school, and they did what I now consider to be "normal" Quince activities. Some kids bring in the flag, the national anthem (which is incredibly long) is sung, and then the flag is taken away. Then there are a bunch of performances by groups of kids, including dances, poems, songs, etc. A bunch of diplomas are given out to the participants. Then it ends with some words of thanks. So after that explanation I can say that I also went to a school on Tuesday, and it was pretty much the same, except there was a parrot in the audience, which I thought was really weird, so I took pictures of it.

So then for the actual Quince... In the morning I walked in a parade of all the urban schools, which means every public and private elementary, middle, and high school with all their students. That added up to probably around 2000 people, maybe more, and I walked with a middle school that I sometime visit in the afternoons. It was a good opportunity for the community to see that I am a part of the education system, because there were thousands of people lining the streets to watch the parade, and I kind of stand out in groups in Guatemala... The parade ended in the park and then there was the series of activities that I described in the previous paragraph, but with many more speeches mixed in. The event ended with some dances, and most people went home for lunch. Then in the evening there were more speeches, and then a live band came out and started playing the 7 popular songs that play here, over and over, starting with, "En Cambio Tu."

Now I need to describe a phenomenon that I find very bizarre. For some reason, despite their Latino nature, when listening to music, Guatemalans either are dancing in a pair, or are standing completely still. We're talking: no head bobbing, no foot tapping, no body swaying, nothing. It's like movement is banned unless it's being done in a pair. So when the band started playing, no one in the crowd moved at all, they all just stood in a group and stared up at the band. In the meantime, we crazy Gringos were standing in the back nodding our heads, occasionally doing a random dance move, and generally letting the rhythm get us... We proceeded to have a really fun night that included dancing all around the main park with plenty of people staring at us. It was one of the most fun times I've had in Guatemala so far.