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The Forest park of Riga. The Grand Estrade.
The main stage of Latvian song and dance celebration. After some days tens of thousands people will gather here to sing together.
In the happening they will sing from dusk to dawn. Let's have a look is the feeling different compared to this.
This is Los Travelleros: Latvia by Bike. Welcome to Latvian song and dance festivals
held in warm and sunny July of 2013.
Festivals lasts one week. It's impossible not to notice tens of thousands of singers, dancers, musicians and artisans,
who comes to celebrate the folklore to Riga.
Now it's Sunday, the last day of celebration. Party has continued whole week.
We're watching the parade on the main street of Riga.
All the participants walk starting from the Freedom monument.
Parade started at eleven and now its about 2 p.m., but marching still continues.
Yesterday we went to Daugavas stadion to see the final show of dancers.
Let's have a look how it seemed there.
Here starts soon a big dancing event.
Because I don't know anything about it, would be good to learn something before it starts.
Oh, and here I have already some dancers.
Sitīsim spriguli! = Let's beat the flail!
Aiziet! = Let's go!
That's all!
I got good advices how to interpret the dances.
They will do different patterns down there.
and should follow those.
Patterns are old symbols which transfers information from the past to the future.
So I believe it is. Or it actually says here. And I believe in this program leaflet.
Well, dancers are already coming. These kind of patterns they will form.
Also sprigulis, the dance I just learned, will be in the show.
Nice to see how thousand men do it synchronously. Look, dancers!
I could tell some other facts about the festival.
I said it already that there are about 40 000 participants.
Festival has been held every fifth year since 1873.
This was very important during the national awakening,
because it strengthened development of Latvian culture identity.
Festival has even survived through the communist era.
They tried to use mass event for purposes of communist propaganda,
but clever Latvians managed to maintain their own way to celebrate this important national event.
Festival is organised by the state and pays the expenses of participants
like accomondation, food.
Now, the crowd continues now to the big stage of the Forest park.
Where will be the main choir concert.
According to the program party continues until four a.m..
But I don't believe, that they will already quit singing then
because singers will get tomorrow officially a free day.
It's little more than 7 p.m.. Lines of singers flows to the stage.
Audience is already seated. we are waiting what's going to happen.
Some singers came to the back stage. I'd like to chat with a singer.
Let's search for a singer...
Oh, I think here is already one singer standing. Totally by change.
There's been now four hours of choirs singing. Seems that it still continues some while.
Soon, after midnight, choir singing change to sing-alongs.
Then is also our time to join and test,
how we could leave this small body behind and became part of a singing mass.