This is the day on which Guatemala won its independence from Spain in 1821. It is a public holiday during which the buildings in Guatemala City are draped in blue-and-white bunting, and there are parades with schoolchildren marching to the music of military bands. A popular holiday pastime is watching La Conquista (The Conquest), a traditional dance where the dancers, in wooden masks and red wigs, reenact the conquest of the Mayan Indians by the Spanish soldier Pedro de Alvarado. Discuss