September 18th is Fiestas Patrias, the national Chilean holiday to celebrate Chile’s independence from Spain in 1810. In good Chilean fashion, the holiday is celebrated for weeks! With lots of dancing, pisco sour, and yummy empanadas . . .
Both Aliya and Asher enjoyed a week of celebration at their schools. Aliya learned how to dance Sau Sau – the typical dance of La Isla Pasqua (Easter Island).
Asher learned how to dance the Haka – a typical Rapanui (another word for La Isla Pasqua) dance. That’s Asher in the middle dancing the Haka!
Luckily, Raquel was given some great tips from Aliya on how to dance Sau Sau. Here she is dancing Sau Sau around Asher and his class of 2C Boys in front of the Mackay Primary school.
In addition to seeing Asher and Aliya dance typical Chilean dances, one of Raquel’s favorite Fiestas Patrias surprises happened at the local grocery store. Right next to the yogurt and orange juice, 10 Chilean huasos (cowboys) started to dance the Cueca (the national dance of Chile). 
It felt like being back in Texas during Rodeo season!
Aliya looked great in her Cueca dress – the typical Chilean dress!
Feliz Fiestas Patrias!!!
