Travel-Stained Life

Our Mexico City visit fell on the 16th of September, Mexico´s Independence Day.  A host cancelled on us due to the holiday so we rented a cheap hotel room in Centro Historico and were able to be observers front row center to the festivities.  The main celebrations were in the town square or Zocalo, a historical district containing a massive cathedral, National Palace, and other governmental buildings.   In the days leading up to the holiday, we had seen the center become increasingly populated with vendors, security guards, and locals. 

We were told that the event starts the night before with the president´s speech at 11:00 p.m.  We arrived to the semi-crowded center early at 4:00 and listened to the bands playing and immersed ourselves in red, green, and white.  Everyone, but us, were in their Independence Day garb.  Mexican flag colors and ¨Viva Mexico¨ were painted on faces, sombreros, fake wigs, and clothes.  Deenaree got a kick out of the little children in traditional Mexican costumes, including this little boy with sombrero and fake mustache to top it off. 

As the hours passed in the center, rain poured.  We thought about going back to the hotel room and coming to the square later, but decided to wait it out until sunset.  When the sun set, we were excited to reap the benefits of our wait.  Magically, as if someone somewhere had flipped on an imaginary switch,  the buildings around the square lit up like it was Christmastime.  Faces of famous Mexican historical figures and a giant eagle and serpent were brilliantly illuminated for all to observe.  It didn´t matter that we were nearly soaked to the bone, we excitedly took in the splendor and shot some pictures. 

At 11:00, the Mexican president spoke.  We watched him on our tv in the hotel room because it had gotten chilly outside.  We couldn´t understand what he said, but we heard him passionately say ¨Viva Mexico¨three times before waving the flag in front of a cheering crowd.  Then, there were fireworks and we stood on our balcony to watch them. 

In the morning, crowds lined the street under our balcony.  The location of our hotel, we learned, put us in a perfect spot to watch the parade.  It was a military parade that lasted almost two hours and included a grand display of military aircraft flying overhead every few minutes.  Although we were not Mexican citizens, we felt very fortunate to have been close observers to such a proud day for many.