Benito Juarez Day

March 21
I wake at 6:00 and am surprised to hear the sound of sweeping in the street outside my window. Today is a national holiday - Benito Juarez's birthday and the town is sprucing up for festivities later in the morning. To call Juarez the George Washington of Mexico might be a simplification, but he left a legacy of democratic reforms that transformed the country and he is revered. Walking back from breakfast at the French bakery, I see a modest crowd is gathered in the town plaza, listening to long winded speeches about democratic traditions, etc, etc. There is a group of young women on the sidelines,  dressed in long cotton dresses, waiting to perform a traditional dance. When their turn comes, they dance with colorful ribbons stretched between them, bare feet moving in a graceful shuffle, toe-tap step. They have sweet faces behind heavy makeup,  but they are quite serious about their dance.