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Tijuana Gringo |
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Daniel's Journal |
Longer Version? | by Daniel Charles Thomas |
16 September 2001. |
The Moment of Silence at Tijuana Municipal Palace.
It was a long night last night. The night of Mexican Independence, and the traditional "grito" -- shout of liberty.
We gringos typically think of "Cinco de Mayo" as the big holiday, but no, in Mexico it is September 16th, Independence Day, which is the biggest political fiesta.
In the evening I met Tere, and Mike and Maria, at the shopping center. We all walked back over the pedestrian bridge that links Plaza Rio mall with municipal palace and its gardens.
By now it was dark, but the pedestrian bridge was lit, and many people were strolling over the concrete river channel, toward the twinkling lights and noise of the fiesta.
The carnival rides were whirling. The palacio jardines (gardens) were full of little restaurants under tents and independence-souvenir salespeople, and flags, flags, lots of flags.
The four of us wiggled our way into the crowd, toward the stage. The singer finished her set, but between her last songs mentioned that now is a time of solidarity with the United States, that the neighbor and friend of Mexico is suffering and we should keep the Americans in mind and in our prayers. It was almost ten o'clock when a military band marched out and lined up on the stage.
| July 2001 |
October 2001 |
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