La+Siesta+P.10

La Siesta A siesta is a nap taken after the midday meal. This nap takes place at the sixth hour, or at six o'clock. Each day, shops in Spanish speaking countries close for about three hours. For people of Texas, the siesta is what made their independence possible in 1863. After Mexican general Santa Anna conquered over the defiant Texans at the Alamo, he pursued on the rest of the rebels. These rebels had retreated on Gavelston Island. On April 21, on the coastal plain at San Jacinto, Santa Anna and his troops took their customary afternoon siesta. That was the time that the awake Texans chose to attack. In eighteen minutes, the battle was over with the Texans as the winners. It also dates back to the Spanish Civil War, when Spaniards worked long jobs, pushing meals to later in the afternoon or evening. Then they take a nap or rest after their midday meal. La Siesta is influenced by high temperatures and heavy intake of food.