Tuesday, September 22, 2009

La Fortuna Costa Rica Independence Day Parade

Independence Day in La Fortuna Costa Rica is one of the reasons I LOVE this country.

I give Costa Rica a lot of shit. I do. A LOT of SHIT - just read a 'few' of my posts and you'll quickly see I don't pull a whole lot of punches. I think the 3 people who DO read me, appreciate that. After all, do we really need another 'feel good', BULLSHIT blog about Costa Rica? Yeah, Costa Rica CAN be paradise, but often there's a stream of shit running through paradise.... and I'm all about EXPOSING the SHIT.

Like a parent scolds a child, I also scold Costa Rica because I CARE, anyway...

In town around Costa Rica, everybody shows up for a PARADE. Last week on September 15th, much of Central America was celebrating Independence Day and La Fortuna was no exception. It's not like they have elaborate floats made with 20 million kinds of roses and those big 'fuck all' Sponge Bob helium balloons marching through town. These are down home parades- Kids, simple floats, costumes, horses, and a lot of bands. I say bands, but really these bands consist of 2 instruments- various drums and xylophones- that's it- no BRASS, but the song selection is limitless- who knew?

For me, it's not the parade per se, it's the PEOPLE watching the parade. The entire town shows UP in support and celebration and EVERYONE seems to be thoroughly ENJOYING themselves. It's quite refreshing to see they don't need a big 'fuck all' Sponge Bob balloon to be entertained. It's the reason I moved here- the simplicity of it all. The same reason I can spend hours at La Sabana Park in San Jose- people watching. Watching Ticos enjoy life in its simplest form- around family and friends.

Check out this video of La Fortuna's Independence Day CELEBRATION:



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