It has been 192 years since the final defeat of the Spanish in the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) when the authorities in Guatemala declared the independence of all of Central America. And so now, every year a flaming torch is carried from Guatemala starting on Sept. 11 all the way to the former colonial capital of Costa Rica in Cartago, symbolizing the arrival of the news of independence.

The runners are selected from the local schools throughout Central America to carry the torch an average of 500 meters, a task that serves as a great source of pride. The torch crosses the Nicaraguan border into Costa Rica each year on the eve of the day of independence and arrives in the northern town of Liberia in time for a sunset ceremony on Sept. 14. Runners and bikers follow the torch route for varying distances, occasionally getting lost as outlying townspeople join the crowd to light their own torches to carry along their own divergent routes. (Source, CostaRicaPages.com)

Light is the symbol of freedom here in Costa Rica and what better way for children to learn and celebrate independence than with lanterns – or faroles (fah-ROH-lays), as they are called in Spanish. Last night at the Escuela Playa Hermosa Guanacaste, the kids in town gathered with their home-made lanterns for a parade through this beautiful and tiny little beach town. The parade started with the school’s maestro, Javier Rosales, making a speech on the significance of the lantern and the history behind it. His speech was an impassioned one, inspiring national and provincial pride among his listeners. After his speech, everyone stood up and sang the National Anthem of Costa Rica and the Hymn of the Annexation of Guanacaste.

It was now time for the main event.  The energy level kicked up a notch. The kids lit their lantern candles. Some of the more high-tech oriented turned on LED lights inside their lanterns. Parents fastened the seat belts of infants in strollers. I heard a couple of beers crack open. Everyone lined up and we were off!

The lanterns came in all shapes, sizes, colors and themes. Some were store-bought but most were home made by each child (although some kids’ faroles looked like they had some significant help from mom or dad, wink). Houses were very common. Some kids made their lanterns out of plastic soda bottles and found or re-purposed materials. I heard one parent say that her kids’ lanterns were made from fully recyclable materials – the children are learning about recycling at the school. Some dangled from sticks with hooks on them. Others were carried like torches with handles below them. No two were exactly alike.

It was a family event with the kids from Playa Hermosa, their brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins – and some pets too – all participating in the parade that went from the school to the first beach entrance, along the main road, down the second beach entrance and terminating at the beach. There were about 60 participants, a good percentage of the year-round population of this tiny little town. As the parade progressed, people came out of their homes or onto their balconies to watch the pageantry. There was even a small traffic jam as people joined the parade and the crowd in the street swelled a bit. At the end of the parade, awards were given for the 3 best lanterns. The winner was this awesome boat lantern by Kevin Hansen Feanny Vallejos (photo below) that garnered him 5,000 colones and bragging rights until Independence Day 2014. Way to go Kevin! And Happy Independence Day, Costa Rica! Pura vida!

Mike Poynton is Owner/Principal of Paradise Social, a digital marketing, SEO and website design company in Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste. He is also active in his community and serves on the Board of Directors of the Asociación de Vecinos y Empresarios de Playa Hermosa. He periodically contributes articles to the Costa Rica Star.