What's Happening?

We could hear them coming from far off in the distance. Loud voices. Brass bands. The past few weeks have been filled with protests, blockades, rallies, and marches. I went down to the corner, found a high vantage point on a high doorstep and waited. The street was flooded with hundreds (maybe thousands) of people heading toward the Danza, a large plaza around the corner.

As the crowd approached, I realized the first musicians were students, and they were followed by more groups of students carrying banners naming their regions of the state of Oaxaca. There were monos dressed for the occasion, colorful dancers with baskets of fruits on their heads and others with giant headdresses of colored feathers.

The crowd poured into the Danza, the drum and bugle corps played the lead into the National Anthem that was sung by a young woman. Vendors (one with a baby on her back) offering chips and other snacks with chile sauce wound their way up and down the cement bleachers. I learned that this celebration is in honor of graduates of courses in academics, civics, culture, and sports, and it will last for three days.

It is now 10 p.m. and I can still hear music. What better reason could there be to celebrate?

A couple more photos are here