By George Alzamora, Esan University
I would like to talk about one of our national festivities. It is on July 28, and we call it “Fiestas Patrias,” and it is a festive day where we celebrate one more year of our independence from the Spanish conquerors.
For Fiestas Patrias, the national army prepares a show that is watched by thousands of guests that meet just for the purpose of supporting the effort and to celebrate this festivity. What I like most about this festivity is that everybody feels like family at least those days, because we’re all proud of being Peruvian. The air force sends some planes to do some maneuvers in the air, the cavalry also prepares a show, and basically everybody celebrates in their own way.
People use red and white t-shirts with the Peruvian flag printed on them, so it makes everybody feel in harmony. In lower-income areas, people drink some beers with their friends, they go out to some clubs and party, and some others just travel to the Andes Mountains or the Amazon Rainforest, two of the important regions of our country, to spend time with family.
At school, kids prepare many shows from kindergarden to high school, and in history class, kids research and recreate some important historical events as theatrical skits. The President of Peru also gives a presidential address about the national situation, and everybody is aware of it. When a president finishes his term and gives transfers his power to another president, this event also happens just on that day, on July 28. Many Peruvian artists make presentations honoring Peru, too, and people go to watch these events.
