Kermesse!

Yesterday, The American School held their yearly festival called Kermesse. It is a fair in which the parents club raises money for their various projects. There are various kid's games, basketball and football matches, a train for the little ones, booths selling different products, dances (of course), food (Mexican, by some strange coincidence) and because I was involved, a table with science experiments, of course.

The event was quite well run, and I have the impression that it was very successful. However I spent the entire day in my booth, so I saw very little beyond my visitors, the bunnies and pollitos (chicks) that the neighboring booth was selling and the intermittent silly string/foam battles that raged in and around my booth.

Although I had four experiments, the Magic Mud and the Mountain of Bubbles were by far the most popular experiments.





In other news, I am writing from San Cristobal once again. If you are one of my (three) faithful readers, you are probably wondering if I saw a parade. Actually I literally lost count of the parades (well actually, processions to be accurate) that I saw today (but if I had to guess, I would say it was over 30). The processions are in honour of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. Since I am at an internet cafe on Avenida Insurgentes (a major road), a procession goes by every five minutes or so.

This is what wikipedia says about the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe:

Our Lady of Guadalupe or the Virgin of Guadalupe is a Marian apparition and a 16th century Roman Catholic icon. Guadalupe is also Mexico's most popular religious image. Guadalupe's feast day is celebrated on December 12th-- a day which commemorates her appearance on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City from in 1531. Her popularity and cultural significance are multifaceted: while Catholics honor her as the manifestation of the Virgin Mary in the Americas, she is also an important symbol of Mexican nationalism. Guadalupe is also frequently interpreted as a syncretic manifestation of the indigenous goddess Tonantzin. Finally, some theologians see the Guadalupan event as signifying a special relationship between the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the Catholic Church.

Today I saw several Mexican flags with the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe substituted for the eagle and the snake, so I can confirm the nationalist symbolism.

Most of the processions had people walking or running with torches (including all the way to San Cristobal) and many of them had people holding palm branches and flowers. There were also two purified water truck parades. Yes, I am serious - PURIFIED WATER TRUCK PARADES! Really, do you think I could makes this stuff up?