Happy Birthday, Country!! (TWO)

Sorry for the delay, but the pictures were far from good when I got them after the parade.

But hey, I still made it through 8 squares with a back-breaking glockenspiel, so I deserved a little rest, don't you think?

Well, anyway, as you might know from past blog posts, today I marched in the school band celebrating Honduras's 189th Birthday with local songs. The usual hot climate, the same uniform from last year (except for the stylish hat) and the old-but-still-good-looking sunglasses were sure to appear during this year's parade.

As always, I'm not the only one

We the lyres played  an array of six songs:

1. Con Mi Burrito Sabanero
2. Happy Birthday to You
3. When the Saints Go Marching In
4. Conozca Honduras
5. Pueblo Mas Macho
6. La Granadera

The last song, La Granadera, is an important song in Honduras. It is to our National Anthem what "America the Beautiful" is to "The Star-Spangled Banner". Yep, La Granadera was one of the local songs (actually the first) to become the National Anthem of Honduras.

And, yeah, it still has that solemn touch... i personally like that song.

We played La Granadera in a special occasion during the parade, when the National Flag paraded around. We (the band) were aligned in four rows, so when the Captain of the band gave the signal, we stepped aside (mid-right row moves to far-right and mid-left row goes to far-left) to make way for the National Flag.

You might have noticed our band's pretty large...

Here's the catch: as the flag marched through the Honor Roll, the snare drums were still playing a marching rhythm, but when the Flag started to go through the band, we started playing the solemn hymn. Everyone clapped.

Then, when the Flag returned to its position, the drums played a marching tune again so that we could get to our respective positions.

All in all, we ended up really sweaty, but that's not important, 'cause we got to play one of the best songs that describe Honduras as a free nation.

I love Honduras :)