(photo credit: Arturo A.)Yesterday was Fourth of July, the anniversary of U.S. declaration of independence from Great Britain. As an American, I should have been enjoying Bar-B-Q's and fireworks, maybe with some wine and tacky decorations. However, I spent that day in a foreign country, participating in an ancient tradition -- sort of. A group of students prepared for Aztec Dancing in front of the cathedral yesterday and they invited me to join in. I agreed but I only had on some flip-flops. So I took off my shoes and began dancing with them in the rain. The sound of the drum, the smell of the copal and the overall atmosphere was amazing. A large crowd appeared and soon we were surrounded by onlookers. After a few hours of dancing barefoot, my feet were torn and bleeding. I did have a lot of fun howerever, and I learned quite a lot. These are the types of things that I really am so grateful for. That I can particiapte in this type of activity with friends and not be judged. That we can fully uphold the tradition of our ancestors and strengthen our bond with the spirits. An act like this would have brought suspiscion and mockery in the U.S., I feel. I'm having a great time here and I feel very connected not because I'm in the land of my heritage, but because I am with people who acknowledge their heritage and personal legend. I feel like I have peopel supporting me here and that is so hard to find on the other side of the river (Texas).
Happy Fourth! :)
-Coyo'
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