¡Muchas Fiestas!

Hello! So although it has been a long time since Mexican Independence day and my birthday I will still give a quick little overview. Independence day here is September 16th. It celebrates Mexico’s independence from Spain that was the result of a war that began September 16th 1810. This upcoming year is Mexico’s bicentennial of their revolution of independence and centennial of the second Mexican revolution against Porfirio Díaz that was started on November 20th 1910.

But anyway, I really enjoyed Independence Day. We had the traditional meal of pozole which is a type of corn in a chicken broth, then you add in the fixings’ according to your liking, they have chicken, pork, lettuce, radishes, onions, cilantro, and of course you got to through some salsa in there. On the side of that you have a tostada with some sour cream spread with some fresh cheese sprinkled on top. The creamy tostada compliments the spicy starchy pozole very nicely. We also had some pigs’ feet. I did not really enjoy the pigs’ feet but I did eat a whole one, I have decided that I should take a few bites of everything new down here and give these new interesting flavors a chance. There was a ton of other Mexican dishes too but pozole is the one essential Independence Day dish. After that there was dancing and tequila pouring into the late night. At midnight they have El Grito de Independencia (The Yell of Independence) where everyone screams “¡Viva México! ¡Aye aye ayyyyyyyyyeeeee!” (Mexico lives! Aye aye ayyyyyyyyyeeeee!) They sing the national anthem and salute the flag and stuff. It was a great party and I really felt like I bonded with the people here.

The thing that really impressed me was how much I was welcomed into the celebrations. I didn’t feel like a foreigner observing but that I was welcomed and encouraged to be Mexican for that day with everyone. It was just one more experience of hospitality that I will remember from my time here. If I can generally describe the people that I have met in Mexico, it is that they are amazing hosts.

It was not easy being away from family and friends during my birthday but my community here made it a lot easier. We had some breaded chicken, mashed potatoes, and carrots. They make amazing mashed potatoes here. To top it off we had a chocolate cake as well. The tradition here with the cake is pretty much the same as in the US, they sing happy birthday and you blow out the candles. But then everyone chants “Muerda! Muerda! Muerda!” (Bite! Bite! Bite!) and you bite like one corner of the cake and the people who have eagerly jostled to be in the position behind you smash your face in the cake while you are biting it. Ha ha ha it was great especially because my beard is kind of long right now so I smelled chocolate for the whole night! So all in all it is a great time here with the many fiestas.