La Vela - The Isthmus Celebration

Here I am with Luz and Erica outside the church of Carmen Alto after mass with our gifts for participating in the procession.  We are wearing the traditional clothing of the Isthmus of Tehauntapec as this is a day to honor their traditions.  Luz is the director and owner of the Spanish language school that I attend; Espanol Interactivo, and she loves to share the traditions of Oaxaca with her students.  When she invited us, Suzanne, Jane and I weren't sure if we would feel comfortable or that we would be welcomed by the other participants. 

We needn't have worried, we were welcomed with open arms.  Get in line, girls, we are off to the zocalo!  All the way down to the center of town, one woman would shout "Viva Oaxaca!" and then the rest of us would shout "Viva!  or "Viva San Blas". . ."Viva!" or "Viva el Istmo de Tehauntapec!". . ."Viva!"  etc. 

  

Can you spot the two gringas?  Suzanne and Jane were in a different section of the procession, but we were all parading down the beautiful pedestrian street from the church to the main plaza.  Much to our delight there were lots of visitors lining the streets and they were all very taken by the beautiful dresses and the spirit of the event. We were wondering how many tourist photos we were in that day.

Once we were in the zocalo, we danced while little boys held the beautiful religious banners that accompanied us down the street.  We were walking in the section behind St. Blaize, or San Blas as he is called down here.

The little ones show how it is done: these children were as well behaved as they were beautiful

"Viva las chicas!"

Erica, Luz's daughter,  and I at the Club de Leones where the party was held after the procession.  We estimated that there were close to 500 people and almost every woman was dressed in the traditional clothing.  It was unbelievably colorful, festive and really fun! 

Suzanne helps Stan to get spiffy.  After a bottle of Corona to refresh ourselves, and some delicious food, we headed out to the dance floor.

Gladys, with her daughter-in-law, and Luz at our table of ten.  The little Coronas just kept coming- a case at a time!  The waiters would bring them and set them on the floor where they stayed chilled in the box. The music was great and of course we couldn't resist.  We danced most of the time we were there!  We heard that the party went on for many hours after we left, but after six hours we gringos were exhausted.

One of the many beautiful children at the party.

There were three bands so the music was non-stop, and so was Stan! 

Of course, we had a fabulous time.  Muchas gracias, Luz!  "Viva las amigas !". . ."Viva!"