Concursos

Next week is Guatemala's Independence Day, September 15, so naturally the festivities started early this week and will continue on until the end of next. All the local schools cancel classes and instead hold school-wide "concursos," or contests, each day a different theme/talent. So far, I've judged 2 drawing contests, one yesterday at a local elementary school, and one today at the local básico school. I also attended the 3-hour long poetry concurso this afternoon. So far the concursos, in typical Guatemalan fashion, are both ill-planned and painfully drawn-out, full of unnecessarily long speeches and a whole lot of waiting around. This is the running theme of the week. On the bright side, however, the contests do showcase the Guatemalans' love for art and creativity; and the level of national pride is quite inspiring. Next week I'll be going on the antorcha, or torch-run. Basically a group of students and teachers drive down to Salamá (about a 4-5 hour bus trip from here), stay the night, and get up at the crack of dawn the following day and run back to the aldea carrying the symbolic torch. Two or three students run at a time, followed by the bus, which trails behind. The trip averages about 13 hours. The town welcomes the torch runners when they finally arrive at about 9pm the next night. Can't wait...