Independence Day

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted anything! Classes sure are intense- I’ll try to be better.

On September 15th Costa Rica celebrates it’s Independence from Spain in 1821. In fact, this is the Independence Day for most of Central America since they declared collectively. We were very excited to be here for such an exciting holiday. The night before, on the 14th, we went down to the central plaza next to the church (the center of town and life in Costa Rica) in Ciudad Colon to see the festivities. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera! It seemed the whole town came out, many with homemade paper lanterns in red, white, and blue (the colors of the flag). Some were of the Asian (hanging) style, but many looked more like birdhouses on a stick. This tradition recalls the way Costa Ricans first heard of their coming independence – messengers went door to door with lanterns (remember it was 1821) telling people that the next day the country would sign a statement of independence.

Next, a torch was lit from a pyre and run all around the town (very Olympic torch-like). This happens all over the country. Then there was traditional dancing by all age groups on a stage in the plaza. The women and girls wore beautiful flowing skirts that usually have 4 wide, horizontal stripes of color. They wear buns with a long (mostly fake) braid that reaches to their chest. There are flowers in their hair and beige sandals on their feet. The men and boys wear white shirts and pants, sandals, a sash of bright color around the waist, and a matching handkerchief in their hand.

They also had gifts handed out to all the (public?) school children, like it was Christmas. They called numbers and the kids came up to claim their wrapped gift. Afterwards, they had a little play about Costa Rican history. It was performed all by children maybe 7 to 11 years old. It had an accompanying soundtrack with all the music, sound effects, and voices. The children merely lip synced and acted. The tape reminded me of those used by the Wildwood, NJ Boardwalk tramcars – it sounded as though it was a tape used a million times before (in short, not the best quality). So, first Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colon) and his men arrived on boats from Spain to Costa Rica. They declared it a ‘rich coast’ or in Spanish, ‘Costa Rica’. Then they proceeded to enslave the indigenous people. After a while, the people revolted against the Spanish. The Spanish killed most of them in return. In the play, when the natives revolted the Spanish clubbed them to death – the kids dressed as natives laid on the ground as if dead, the kids dressed as Spaniards pretended to hold clubs in their hands and beat them. The crackly soundtrack provided the clubbing noises, which seemed to go on and on and on… A little excessive, it seemed. I’m sure it lasted at least three minutes, which may not seem very long, but when they’re already ‘dead’…

After most of the natives were sufficiently ‘dead’, they switched to 1821. The Ticos discussed how they wanted liberty, traveled to Guatemala (the provincial hub of Spanish Central America), and returned home with the news that Central America was declaring Independence from Spain. They showed a person going door to door with the lantern announcing independence.

It was all very nice. But by then Autumn was near faint with hunger (as always), so we went and had pizza. There are at least three REALLY good pizzerias we’ve found within walking distance in Ciudad Colon. Mmm…

Next morning we were up early to go see the local parade. Lots of dancing again, marching bands (mostly drums in Costa Rica – they’re VERY good!), Los giantes (people with ‘giant’ paper mache torso and heads on – see pictures in slideshow), and even a small group of preschool girls dressed as Disney princesses (yeah, I’m not sure what that was about either).

It was hot, so afterwards we went to the pool for awhile (free behind the post office). Later, we went to the zoo in San Jose. We saw white faced monkeys (the same kind we have on the UPeace campus), spider monkeys, lions, parrots and macaws, turtles, caimans, a tapir, and a jaguar, among others. In one cage, we saw a green parrot and a squirrel. How odd, we thought! Did they not have squirrels in Costa Rica? We couldn’t remember seeing any. It reminded me of an Aussie I once knew who said when he moved to the US he took a million photos of squirrels because he had never seen them before. He said that they were our ‘kangaroos.’ We took a picture and marveled at how a creatures so common to us in Falls Church could be so exotic in Costa Rica as to warrant putting one in a cage. As we continued to explore the zoo, we started seeing squirrels scurrying around free. Confused, we sure felt bad for the one locked in a cage. Later, as we passed the same cage from the other side, we realized that there was a hole in the cage and that the squirrels were just popping in to steal the bird’s seed. Haha, we sure felt silly! Such touristas, taking pictures of the squirrel in the cage!

Before catching the bus home for the day, we walked the main shopping district in San Jose. We bought some books for the girls in the international bookstore (leisure reading in English) and saw some UPeace students in there, too! Whew, what a long day!