Guatemala begins celebrating!!

Tomorrow, is officially Independence Day but the celebrations have already begun. Guatemala gained its independence in 1821 from Spain. The two areas of blue in the Guatemalan flag represent that Guatemala is located between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The white area stands for the purity of the country's values and peace.

The parades started today and so did the torch runners. The runners would stay in front of a bus and people lined the streets to cheer the runners on!

Most of the runners are men but I did see a few ladies.

This guy got real excited when he saw my camera and wanted me to take his photo.

The people who line the streets to cheer the runners on also throw bags of water on the runners. This group is running toward the arch in Chichi.

As they approached the arch, the people above were taking aim with their water.

As I write this, it is 2030 and I can hear the band playing near the school. Hopefully, after tomorrow they will put those instruments away and not start playing at 0600 every morning. I am sure the firecrackers will continue through the night.

Tomorrow, I will go to Santa Cruz and check out their festivities.