The month of September is a month of celebration throughout Central America and, for this reason, in Costa Rica, for example, we call it “the month of the homeland”. This is because on these dates each country celebrates the important process that began the night before September 15, 1821, when the representatives of the towns that previously made up the Captaincy General of Guatemala, decided to draft a document to demand to declare themselves independent from Spain. Those people who fought together for their sovereignty in those years, are the current nations of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica.
In this way, events such as the journey undertaken by students from all over Central America with torch in hand, which begins on September 1 leaving Guatemala and ends, when it has passed from country to country, arriving in Cartago, Costa Rica on the night of September 14. This commemorates the journey that was made to bring the news of independence to each nation of the Captaincy, which was made with a torch that illuminated the way and today is a symbol of freedom.
At the end of the torch’s journey in Cartago, when it is received by the president of our country, it is customary to start the parade of lanterns, which reminds us of the moment when the neighbors of Guatemala went out at night, with lamp in hand, around the place where the act of independence was being drafted, to demonstrate their enthusiasm and support for such a decision.
However, the celebration does not end like that, since the news of independence generated so much joy among the people, that we can remember how every September 15 the streets were filled with the beating of drums and colorful parades that reflect the joy with which the Central Americans started on that road to freedom.
It has been 200 years of journey, in which they have struggled to build a solidary, peaceful and hard-working nation. The journey has not been easy and we are far from being a perfect nation, but we can feel grateful to have a soil that gives us shelter and provides us with tranquility and stability.
Whether it is because we were born in this little piece of land, or because at a certain moment we decided to make it our home, let us feel privileged to be celebrating another year of freedom.