Teacher on Two Wheels

This is a video I shot of the Independence Day parade in downtown Huancayo, Peru on Sunday July 27, 2008.

The parade is an annual event that showcases the city’s various civic, scholastic, and military groups. In it, hundreds upon hundreds of people march in front of the city hall and salute local government officials. I was shocked by how much marching went down. For hours, men, women, and children marched under a blazing midday sun. Lots of people became uncomfortably sweaty. Lots. Children carried white sticks, about as long as rifles, and swung them around like the guns that the military groups carried. Marching women in high heels, grimacing in pain with sweat thick on their brows, kept up pace with their suited male office peers. Military servicemen in shirts bearing the word ‘Comando‘ even repelled face-first from the roof of the city hall. I was taken aback by the nationalistic vibe of the whole thing.

How would Americans react if our 5-year-olds ever marched down main street on July 4th with gun-sticks in their hands, saluting local officials and marching a choppy military step?