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Published: February 18th 2010
Wendee had some business to attend to in Ajijiic, so she dropped Jim and I off to wander around for the afternoon. We ran into some ex-pat ladies and asked them where would be a good place to have lunch. They told us that the Mardi Gras was on and if we went just a couple or 3 blocks over there, we would hit the 'Plaza' and there would be lots of good eats...that's also where the parade ends. Every village in Mexico has a Plaza which is a central gathering place for everyone. There are booths set up with lots of good eats, drinks, and trinkets. There are loads of metal benches to sit on as well. The whole family goes down to the plaza to socialize and have fun. I hear it's especially busy on Sunday's although we have yet to go on a Sunday.
This day we made our way down to the Plaza and had a bite to eat and watch the festivities. There was a parade with loads of people having fun. The army also had quite a presense there which is unusua - they were very serious. They also allowed me to take pictures
of them, which I understand is unusual as well. I thought they would protest when I took some pics, but apparently, it was all good. There were grandios floats in the parade with lots of good music and carrying-on...dancing, and playing around. There were also lots of men dressed up as exagerrated females....with balloons in their bosoms, and butt..much makeup and the hair to go with it....also lots of miniskirts !
There were boys with white masks on throwing handfulls of flour from the little shoulder bags they had. Confetti too! Many boys were rough-housing and jostling one another trying to see who could get the most flour on each other...lots of laughter. The wee ones were also gathering confetti off the ground so they could throw handfuls on people. Nearly everyone had flour on their clothes, face, and hair. Thank goodness I only got the confetti !!! It is considered a blessing if you get flour thrown on you.
There was an air of festivity and much fun for blocks around. The police were on the corners making sure vehicles didn't go on the streets where the parade was....One of them had a really good looking sandwich,
so I asked him where he got it. He said 'I got bread from the bakery, and took it over to the butcher shop where they put meat on it for me'. He looked pretty pleased with himself 😊
I can't describe what all we saw, but one of the notable things was the dancing horses. The streets are all cobblestone...and the band was playing...it was amazing watching the horses dance !
Another thing to note was that almost everyone in the parade were well on their way - it seemed everyone had a beer in their hands. It's ok to walk around with booze here...and it's not restricted at all.
We had a blast !!!
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Bethann Renaud
non-member comment
Following your travels!
Jan, I've been keeping up with your posts and every entry sounds like an adventure in itself! How exciting to be in a new place and trying new things! Keep the updates coming! Those of us here stuck in the daily grind are enjoying reading about your travels! Enjoy! Bethann