fiestas patrias

July 25 is Independence Day for Peru, or “Fiestas Patrias”. After spending my second Fiestas Patrias in Peru, I would say that it is a bigger deal than our July 4. Everyone wears Peru’s patriotic colors of red and white, there are parades all over the country, and school shuts down for over two weeks. My town, although small, shows abundant pride during this holiday. On July 25, all of the school children, town leaders, members of sports teams and clubs marched for Fiestas Patrias. Marches and parades here are nothing like parades in the US. It is a very serious affair, no smiling or waving; actually quite the contrary. Starting with 5 year old preschoolers to the oldest members of the community, everyone marches in a militaristic manner with straight arms and legs. They practice for weeks to perfect this art of marching. They take the parades very seriously and all of the parents came to me to take pictures of their kids. Here are some of the many pictures I took for Fiestas Patrias.