Fiestas Patrias

Translated from Spanish, "Fiestas Patrias" means "patriotic holidays" or national holidays. This weekend several Latin American countries celebrated their Independence Day.
To name a few:

September 15th - Guatemala
September 16th - Mexico
September 18-18th - Chile

So, for the last 17 years the Latino communities of Seattle have gathered to celebrate the many holidays in one huge weekend-long fiesta. Considering that SeaMar originally started out as an organization serving the Latino population of Seattle and Marysville, the local clinics have put together health fairs and parades in South Park, as well as Seattle Center. Every year that AmeriCorps has been a part of SeaMar the members got to be a part of the festivities as well. This included translating and working at the health fair, as well as various other duties, such as cheerleading during the parade, and scooping up the poop after the caballeros.

It was a great pleasure to be a part of that and see the community come together, and take interest in health screening that was available to them at various health fair locations. Even though the parade and all the festivities did not start until 11, there were families lined up along the route in preparation for the parade as early as 9:30am! Everybody wanted a good spot to see the floats and the horses, and the cars. The little kids came ready with little bags and baskets, because often the parade participants tossed candy and other small favors to the crowd. The energy of the crowd was so festive and fabulous, I really wish I could have spent more time checking everything out!

I sure hope to be able to participate more in the activities next year!

Photos are coming as soon as my internet improves!


Some traditional costumes and performers


The caballeros

No parade would be complete without some low riders.