September 15 marks Independence Day. Lots of firecrackers the night before, a flag raising at 5:30a.m. (I missed that!) and a parade along with other events. My favorite part of Independence Day? The electricity was on all night the night before. I slept very well with my A/C on all night!
Here are some photos...
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The 8:00a.m. parade is led by the flag and then city officials. |
| A couple of groups of majorettes follow. (I did not actually witness the batons they're carrying being used.) |  |
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Some army types. Too young to be regular army. I'm not sure who they were. |
| Every school is led by its banner and drum corps. The drum and marching practice has been going on for weeks. I thought it was either preparation for this parade or for a coup. |  |
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This was one of my favorie scenes. I'd like to get a hat like that... |
| Yet another school. I think this was the Seventh-Day Adventist school. They carried Bibles and even worked them into their routine! (Stop, open, page, close, go; all in time with the drums!) |  |
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Not as many floats as in the Carnival Parade. This one was pretty, done in the colors of the Honduran flag. |
| And the other one was nice too. I don't recall who sponsored the floats. |  |
| Here is the school banner, being carried by a student named Precious. (Her family is active at Mizpah Methodist Church.) |  |
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And the rest of the UMCC students follow. |
| This was my least favorite part of the Independence Day celebration: children boxing. Yes, I know it's a sport but... I only stayed for two bouts. The matches were brief but the event went on for hours. Somebody told me later they even had little girls duking it out. |  |
One event I missed but would have like to have seen: The greased pole competition. A greased pole with 500 lempiras (U.S. $35) was erected. The object: You guessed it. Climb the pole and get the money. Maybe I'll catch it next year!
