The celebration actually concludes on the 25th. Prior to that, there are a number of other spontaneous (to me) celebrations and parades. This link is to a police/fire truck "parade" that ran in front of our apartment a couple of nights ago (poor quality, but it's all I've got):
We had been inside eating dinner when we heard the first sirens go by, thinking that it was just an emergency call. After hearing them for over a minute, however, we went out to our balcony and watched the last 45 seconds or so as it went by.
Today we went down to the Malecon to watch the festivities. Many of the downtown streets were closed to accommodate a parade that lasted about three hours. First, all of the military groups went by:
As the groups turned the corner, all of the teams carrying the flag of Guayaquil (the blue and white striped one) were redirected on to the Malecon and organized:
We were hearing rumors that Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, would be making an appearance. He frequently does make an appearance at large civil events. Here he is at the opening of a new pier in Puerto Lopez (we were not there): http://www.flickr.com/photos/presidenciaecuador/sets/72157634397392497/. It turns out, however, that it was the city mayor instead:
Definitely a crowd favorite and a man of the people. After singing along with (what I think was) the national anthem, he said a few words before rejoining the parade. Here he is leaving (he's the one in the tan suit):
(Side note: I'm just over 6'0" and it is a definite advantage over the locals when it comes to taking pictures!)
I like this picture of three of the flag carriers as they were leaving. I believe they are junior military training, like ROTC cadets:
After the military, every school in the city (it seemed that way, at least) had they're own procession:
After standing on the concrete for four hours, it was time to call it a day. On the way back to the apartment, we walked through the restored Barrio Santa Ana. Years ago, it was a blight to the city and a dangerous place to be, even in the daytime. Now, though, it's been cleaned up and contains many galleries and art studios:
Many of the art pieces are well designed and look very nice:
Even if they aren't politically correct!
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