Ole!

What a crazy weekend I just had! I don't think I fully realized how playful Mexican people were until these past few days. These people really know how to party! On Saturday I was fortunate enough to attend a "quince anos" (15 years old) birthday party in Toluca. While in Canada I vaguely remember there being a minor celebration when I was confirmed in the Catholic chuch it paled in comparison to the party I attended to celebrate the coming of age of one of Nora´s cousins. A three course meal was followed by a dance where everybody - from the grandparents to the youngest children in the crowd - was on the floor dancing to a combination of cumbia, 80´s rock (YMCA, R.E.M, etc.) and ¨Achy Breaky Heart¨in Spanish. And around eleven o´clock just when I was expecting things to wind down a mariachi band showed up. It was fantastic! It was like a wedding, bar mitzva, and prom all rolled into one. However, none of this could have prepared me for ¨el grito¨ (Independence Day celebration) that took place on Monday night.
Basically for two days a year, September 15th and 16th all of Mexico shuts down so people can warm up for the festivities that are held in the main plaza of every town in the country. In Toluca there were about 500,000 people in the centre milling around blowing trumpets and other noise makers and squirting foam at each other. Then, at 11 o´clock (that magic hour again) everybody gathered in the zocalo (the main plaza) to watch the governor of the state of Mexico (where Toluca is located) yell out, ¨Viva los mexicanos! Viva Mexico!¨ To which everybody in the crowd responded ¨Viva! Viva!¨ Apparently its symoblic of the original battle cry of a priest named Hidalgo who rallied the troops to fight the Spanish and win independence from Spain in a ten year battle at the turn of the 19th century. You can read more about in on wikipedia or view this clip: http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=PTGH8rsMqQo&feature=related. Viva Mexico!