Cinco de Mayo!

Wednesday was Cinco de Mayo! Almost every school in all of Mexico had school cancelled yesterday, but our program coordinator decided it would be a great idea if we had class (even though the rest of the university was closed). After long and well thought out internal debate I decided that skipping class and attending the parade was a much better idea than going to class. Although I felt bad for skipping class, I think it was worth it. As Puebla is the location of the epic battle of Cinco de Mayo, I felt it was only appropriate that I experience its formal commemoration in the city in which it occurred. So Wednesday morning I walked to school to drop off my homework (like a dedicated skipper) and then got a taxi to the centro. I met up with Olivia and her mom in their hotel and then we walked over to check out the parade situation. We paid 70 pesos each for seats in the arranged rows of chairs and got comfortable to wait for the parade. There were tons of people and lots of street vendors selling everything from confetti and silly-string to umbrellas and donuts. I bought a sun-parasol for 10 pesos that was made from Pacifico Beer labels—classy and functional. Thus properly equipped to evade the scorching morning sun, we held our ground as the seats around us were filled and others crowded to stand in the space behind them. Finally it began! The first 30 min of the parade consisted of military squads of all types. They all marched by very seriously, even those who had been smothered in confetti by the crowd. All the women around us screamed encouraging words to the women soldiers and whistled for the male troops. Then came the military tanks, equipped with missiles and other intimidating weapons. After that came the prep schools, each with a group of girls in matching outfits and a group of boys. Some had marching bands, others girls who did tricks with batons or flags. Hundreds of prep schools filed by interrupted by the occasional elaborate float dedicated to famous Mexican historical figures (even powerful dictators, who were definitely not well-liked during their reign). After two hours of prep school groups the parade finished up with some people on horseback and finally the ambulance and fire trucks. The parade was a lot of fun. It was definitely worth skipping class to go see it. Afterwards I walked around in the crowds of vendors and people milling about in the parades aftermath, and then got a cab back home.