September 18 is Chile's Independence Day. This year they celebrated their 200th of independence.
The students at Colegio Nacional in Villa Alemana participated in a cueca competition on the last day of school. I loved seeing the girls dressed in their beautiful chinitas (dresses are worn only during the Fiesta Patrias) and the boys handsomely dressed in their boots, spurs, suits, and ponchos.
Myself and my 7th grade student
Couples dance with number tags on their arms for the judges to vote which ones would make it to the next round.
They started with a group of 15+ pairs of students in the 1st round and ended with 5 in the 4th round with only 3 pairs to stand in front of a huge Chilean flag to receive their medals from the director of the school. I could tell that winning this competition meant so much to them. You can tell that they were hot, sweaty, and thirsty from the continuous dancing from 1 round to another, but they took it very seriously. It was so sweet to see the guys give their girl partners a huge hug and beso when they heard their couple number being called for medals.
My co-teacher, my 11th grade student, and myself
The day after the cueca competition, the school held a fair outdoors. Each grade had various different stands for games and food. I was a bit appalled that the students did not help at all but I guess it was a fair for them and not by them. Inside the gym were more dance performances by the students. It was a good day.
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