Wednesday was the 206th anniversary of Benito Juárez’s birthday. Benito Juárez is probably the most significant political figure in Mexico’s history. I don’t need to get into a biography here (here’s Wikipedia’s or About’s). Basically he was a Zapotec Indian orphan who rose out of poverty to become the leader of the reformist movement in Mexico in the 1850’s. As president during the French Intervention (1861-1867) he was the symbol and leader of the Mexican resistance. He was truly a giant of a man.

March 21st has been a Mexican holiday for, uh, a long time…. A few years ago a law changed the official observance from the actual day to the nearest Monday, giving us all a nice 3-day weekend. However, when your school is named after him, you celebrate on the 21st anyway! So on Wednesday, arriving at school, instead of classes we found a program to honor Benito Juárez. School assembly! So I stitched together the clips I took, unedited because I’m lazy and also busy.

The first several are the 6th grade classes performing scenes from his life and honoring his achievements. The highlights are the Constitution of 1857, the appropriation of the Catholic Church’s (vast) properties, resistance against the French–complete with a firing squad! They also do a folk dance from Oaxaca, Juárez’s home state.

Then the second grade classes conclude with a traditional dances from … American high schools (complete with pom-pom’s), frogs, and … Bambi! Good fun!

The only thing possible to say in conclusion is… I love Mexico!

Here’s the video, bounce around through it as needed!