Independence Day

It’s a BIG DEAL here in Honduras to be in a parade for Independence Day. This is no joking matter. Last year I heard about this parade for weeks before it happened, but it became much less exciting as soon as I found out we would be marching down the highway outside the Ranch (however stopping traffic on the main highway to eastern Honduras for the sake of our parade was pretty comical). Because let’s face it, an unpopulated highway is a good place for passing cars, trees, rocks, and about 50 people to watch you… but it’s not really a parade. (Though a giant cow did manage to fall out of a tiny truck that was passing us, which may have made the whole event worth it. The cow was fine, but then we got to watch the farmers try to lasso the thing as it galloped up and down the ditch. Unfortunate for them, but highly entertaining for our parade).




Although this year, WE MADE HISTORY. This year we did not parade from La Venta to the Ranch, but rather we bused about 600 of us (kids, teachers, tios, employees) to good old Talanga to be part of their Independence Day parade! Now this was a BIG DEAL. Normally the 2 afternoons off of school to practice marching around the soccer field is kind of a waste, but this year we had our sights set on higher goals. This year our practice parade had seriously repercussions if we failed (which actually made our practices no less serious and just more stressful for all of the people in charge of seeing that these kids stayed in their lines as we walked in circles), but this year more than just the rocks would watch their marching.











The day started early. The kids awoke at 4 to get ready. The baton twirlers (aka the coolest of the cool) had freshly ironed hair from the night before. The younger girls pulled their hair into neat pig-tales and the boys all applied gel to their fresh dos. We were the first school to go and the parade was start to set at 8 (and unlike almost everything in Honduras, we were actually going by 8:10!). But I was impressed. When these kids have to behave well, they excel and the parade was no exception.



We filed through the streets of Talanga with our flags, percussion line, baton twirlers, cheerleaders, ribbon twirlers, drill line, princesses, and Indigenous heroes. Those who didn’t have a roll simply walked along in their normal uniforms, trying to stay in line. It took us an hour to walk the 8 blocks, but it was fun to hear the applause for the different groups. And it made all of the hard work and careful planning actually mean something when they got to perform for more than just nature. (Plus, we were on the Talanga TV network! My tia who is on maternity leave excitedly texted me to let me know I had just passed on her television!).

The parade in total lasted about 4 hours, with every school walking along with their own interpretations of each act. It ended at a park, filled with food vendors and shady trees. We returned to the Ranch for a special lunch of fried chicken and rice and then the exhausted kids got to watch a movie while they relaxed. Not the fireworks or barbecue of our independence day, but a pretty splendid parade through the dusty streets of Talanga.