189 Years of Independence... From Spain

As a penpal, I've been contacting native Spanish speaking women (I prefer penpals around my age, and we, ladies, are no girls, but Women), and though my favorites are the Latin Americans, are we all share a culture, and then, I must admit, the richness of South American cultures constantly bewitch me. However, I've also found some quite interesting potential penpals from Spain, with all their fun ways of speaking Spanish (even in written, they are so different from us! It's a complete hoot to read them!), and their fabulous culture.

Today is Independence Day, with all their Parades and celebrations, suddenly thinking of them is "strange", to say the least. I mean, we are making this huge party, nation wide party to celebrate that we are no longer theirs.

In here the celebrations, actually start from the 14th, around 6 pm, when the National Anthem is played and we all stand up and sing, and watch the Intependence Torch bring the fire of hope from province to province. It is one of those moments that really, really make you feel patriotic. All the buildings are decorated with the flag, people put little flags in their cars and decorate with them their workplaces. All patriotic songs are played, and we recover them in our memory, sing them again with the same fervor we had when we were young.

I've pictures of this, but since I'm stuck trying to upload a vid I did of the parade, which is why I have no bandwidth left for even the smallest picture ever. Probably you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see a couple of pics of it. (Later note: the vid failed, took too long to upload, so now I add a few pics.)

This year we celebrate the 189 anniversary of our Independence, and it has come with lessons, perhaps even wisdom. The Region is dipped in violence and turbulence, and this country is not the exception, and thus, as we celebrate our independence from Spain, we are held in many fronts by agression. Narcotraffic, crime and corruption in all levels. Our Governants surrender our country, without our concent, to other countries, like the U.S. and China, to foreing capital, like that of Industrias Infinito. We claim independence, freedom from the Spanish, freedom to be who we are, but we do not give the same right to the Native groups that originally lived here, whose lands we have looted and from which, like the Spanish, we have pushed them off.

Independent, really? And what had that independence done from us.