Headed South: Up, Up and Away....

The blogs should be coming fast and furious over the next week. There is simply too much going on to cram it all into one blog. Our trip to the Colonial Independence Cities, The Globus Festival, and now the upcoming celebration of Mexican Independence this weekend. Since the Colonial Independence Cities trip will be an extensive post, I decided to warm up with The Globus Festival.

People had talked about this unique little festival held each year in which locals create hot air balloons out of tissue paper, fill them with the required hot air and set them aloft. I pictured crafts of a few feet, in the prototypical shape, wafting softly into the air. Ha! Wrong Again! All over the village neighbors, clubs and businesses form teams to enter these balloons into the competition. As with most things here, it is totally multi-generational with team members (predominantly but not exclusively male) spanning ages from 7 or 8 into their 60s. The balloons are constructed out of tissue paper that has an almost silky aspect to it. There seems to be no internal structure to them and they are very delicate (more on that later).

Now a central facet of hot air balloons is that there must be a fire which continues to create the hot air so that when it rises... well, you get it. So, now you have tens of, perhaps a hundred, amateur created balloons with fires in them rising over our small village. Hmmm. Maybe that's why they do it in rainy season.

And these puppies are not small. Some may be only 10 or 15 feet but others are as much as 30 feet tall. We've included a lot of pictures on this post because the range and creativity of the balloons set us back on our heels. They ran the gamut from Sponge Bob Square Pants to a memorial balloon for a young mother who died of breast cancer. Polygons, tributes to the Chivas Soccer Team, rocket ships, Mickey Mouse (he met a sad end), a Corona bottle... you get the idea.

Sponge Bob Square Pants Takes to the Skies

Remembering Their Mother

Corona Mega

On to the setting. I feel confident in saying that at least 100 US safety and fire regulations were violated during this event so it was a good thing we were in Mexico. Now, remember you have a hundred or so balloons being propelled by fire, the fixings for fire (kerosene etc) and a crowd of a thousand or more. Everyone and everything is co-located on a soccer field enclosed by a fence with one exit. Also within the field are refreshment stands featuring fire in terms of barbecues, rotisseries and adorable paper decorations within inches of the cooking instruments.

Early arrivals get the stands, the rest bring their own chairs (or stand)

People are literally sitting next to the balloons which are being inflated with hot air. Dogs and children in large numbers are running amidst the crowd. The town drunk is sitting 15 feet from us swilling Tequila from a bottle and singing in Spanish " I love Tequila. It is good to me. I love it like my mother. Ah, si". The children find this humorous and sing along. Parents do not seem put out by this.

Getting ready to set up and inflate the ballon

Preparations take an hour or two and people take advantage of this time to visit with each other and eat and drink as much as possible. And then, one by one, or occasionally two at once, the balloons begin to be set aloft. Here are the things that can happen: 1) lift off is successful and the balloon ascends quickly and moves safely over the Lake; 2) the wind or an imperfect design tilts the balloon so that the highly flammable paper hits the flame and it ignites within seconds sending burning embers (and sometimes sheets of flame) into the nimble crowd; 3) it makes it up over the crowd but doesn't clear the trees and bursts into flames there; 4) it veers unfortunately to the North and hits the power lines (a real crowd pleaser) and bursts into flames. Clearly, three out of four of the possibilities are disappointing to the launching team and potentially life threatening to the spectators but no one lets it get them down.

Lift-off

A Flame Out

Mickey Mouse Crashes into Tree, Bursts into Flames ...

& Leaves Two Mouse Ears Burning

Caught by the Power Lines

To me, the Globos Festival incorporates most of what I find fascinating and endearing about Mexico. The people who make these balloons work six days a week for long hours at mostly manual labor and yet they have the energy and commitment to work as a team to make something very intricate and often of great beauty. A whole community had a wonderful afternoon and evening for absolutely free or at very little cost (see living large on very little). There was no admission fee to this. You could bring your own food and drink. It is such a civil society. There was no conflict here. Nobody pushing to get better seats or getting drunk and starting a fight. Nobody is uptight. Parents let their kids run because they know that if a burning ember is headed towards the tot people will step in a swoop him out of harms way. A sing along with the drunk will not turn the child into an alcoholic. If your balloon that took forever to make bursts into flames before it gets off the ground... well, there's always next year.

So, there you have it. Until next years Globos. Take care, have fun and let us know how you are doing. We'll try to get another post or two up this week.