Happy Guanacaste Annexation Day!

Today is a national holiday in Costa Rica celebrating the annexation of Guanacaste. Known as Día del Anexión de Guanacaste or Día del Anexión de Partido de Nicoya, it's the day in 1824 when the province of Guanacaste officially became part of Costa Rica instead of Nicaragua. There are seven different provinces in Costa Rica - we hear each has its own holiday but not all are nationally observed.

Friday at school we all had big celebrations (since Monday we have the day off). At Claire's school all the kids and teachers wore traditional Costa Rican attire (we need to find out where to get some for Claire - she would love the big dress). They also ate a traditional breakfast of gallo pinto, natilla (sour cream that tastes more like sour milk), cheese, and orange juice. The teachers danced for the kids as well. When we picked her up, Claire said, "I tried gallo pinto, and it was DELICIOUS! I LOVED it!!" (We've only been asking her to try it for almost three months now - go figure. Yay for positive peer pressure!) Her teacher sent us some pictures of the day:

Claire and her classmates 

Claire with Teacher María José

We also had a celebration at Intercultura in honor of the day. We had class and our Friday exam like we always do, but then we broke at 11:30 a.m. for the graduation ceremony and celebration.

This was our class this week - we were at the Intermediate 3-4 level with the wonderful Profesora Hannia and a very sweet girl from Brazil named Lia who spoke excellent Spanish with a really cool Brazilian accent. (Note how we're all in blue, white, and red for the celebration. "Muy patriotico.")

Lia graduating - they award certificates for the final week of class

For the celebration, first we sang the Costa Rican national anthem/hymn, "Noble patria tu hermosa bandera" ("Noble Homeland, Your Beautiful Flag"), followed by an explanation of the history of the day by some fellow students. Our class then did an explanation and demonstration of "bombas," another tradition kind of like a limerick, but louder. Music plays, you yell, "Bomba!," and then say the little rhyme. Lia did the explaining, Graham yelled bomba, and I said the rhyme, followed by a bunch of other students doing the same thing sans explanation.

The Costa Rican flag (bandera) - it's often seen without the seal

Then Profesora Monserrat gave an explanation an demonstration of the güipipía (pronounced "wee-pee-pee-ah") - a cry of the Guanacasteros - followed by a güipipía contest. (Graham even won a prize.)

Graham and his Intercultura keychain/bottle opener after the güipipía contest

This short video demonstrates both a bomba and the güipipía cry (at the end). There's also a really cheesy song from a 1947 movie called "Carnival in Costa Rica" that features the güipipía (although no one does one) if you're interested.

Marcelo, the executive director of Intercultura, belongs to a folkloric dance group. He and his partner, Priscilla, demonstrated three or four dances for us in full regalia. Very impressive. By the way, her skirt contains 10 meters of fabric...

Marcela and Priscilla

Here is a video of a similar celebration, if you're interested: Bombas Guanacastecas! - a Costa Rican dance featuring bombas (starting at 2:26).

After the dance they fed us a lovely lunch of arroz con pollo (a traditional chicken and rice dish), incredible black beans, a salad, chips, and a drink. A fun time was had by all. (Others took more pictures and video - if I find I will send links.)

We even taught Claire the güipipía - she thought it was pretty fun (video here). ¡Feliz Día del Anexión de Guanacaste!

Claire's teacher sent us a few more pictures along with the ones from Friday - thought you might enjoy (more pictures of her school time here if you want to see):

 Having fun at gym - her favorite part of the week!

Playing with the girls - Ann-Sophie, Renata, Sophia, and Claire

Doctor Claire in action

The Spanish Summary:

Hoy es un feriado de Costa Rica que celebre el anexión de un partido de Nicoya en 1824, que se llama Guanacaste.

El viernes a las escuelas de nosotros fue los celebraciónes del día, porque nosotros no tenemos los clases el lunes. A Yimboré, los niños y los maestras se vestieron ropas tradicionales, comieron comida tipica, y miraron los bailes.

A Intercultura, nosotros cantaremos la himno nacional, demonstramos la “¡Bomba!” y la güipipía, miramos bailes tradicionales, y comimos comida tipica muy rico.

La maestra de Claire nos dimos unas fotos de Claire muy lindos – ¡gracias María José!