What a beautiful day for the fiesta! The sky is blue and the air is so clear that the hills and mountains stand out boldly. Many people dressed in their best fill the roads leading to the village of Santa Catarina. They are going to celebrate the feast day of the patron saint of the village.
Two days ago family friends from the village came to Pablo's home in Tepoztlan to invite the whole family to eat the festival dinner with them.
''We have been busy for days,'' they said. ''The women have cleaned the church and swept the churchyard. Just before the fiesta they will decorate it with flowers and tissue paper. They have been cooking and planning the dinner too, and the men have seen to the firecrackers and the candles.''
When Pablo and his family reach the church of Santa Catarina they find the yard is full of people. Little Antonio has many questions. ''Why are those men digging a hole by the gate?'' he asks.
''That is where they are going to set up the pole for the firecrackers,'' Papa tells him.
''Here come the dancers,'' someone shouts.
The dancers from Jalatlaco have made a vow to dance at the fiesta this year. Their leaders carry statues of the santo and bright-colored banners with the name of their club. They look very fine, both the men and women, with their tall plumed headdresses and their pink and red costumes embroidered with beads. First they file into the church, where they kneel before they dance and sing. Then they come out into the churchyard to dance again, where more dancers from San Juan and Santiago join them.
A procession winds down the street: women with baskets of flowers and incense, men with the great candles to be burned in the church, musicians with flutes, and a drummer to bring up the rear.
''The firecracker tower is coming,'' shouts Pablo as more men come into the yard. Bang! Bang! Bang! They set off gunpowder just to let the people know they are on the way. They shout and grunt and shove as they set the firecracker pole in the hole that has been dug for it, and all the children watch with great excitement.
When it is time to eat, the dancers march off to the home of the sponsor of the fiesta and Pablo and his family join their friends for the great feast. But some people are still staying near the church buying food from the vendors. We are lucky to have friends, Pablo thinks to himself.
''It is almost three,'' Papa says at last. We must hurry back for the fireworks.''
Little Felicite is not sure she likes it. ''Such a noise,'' she says and puts her hands over her ears.
''Wait until night and then there will be skyrockets and pinwheels,'' Pablo tells her.
He is right. The night fireworks are even better. At the last with a flash and a great burst of noise the top rocket on the tower explodes. The fiesta is over. ''A wonderful day,'' everyone says as, tired but happy, they start for home.
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