Thursday, March 30, 2017

A Little Carnaval

And Now It is Lent

I've decided to give up being verbose for Lent (sigh of relief from readers) so this will be a really short blog.  But I could not allow yet another raucous celebration of Carnaval go undocumented.
Carnaval here (while not Rio de Janeiro) is celebrated with vigor -- and a great deal of tequila.  To add to the fun Michael's cousin John and his wife Susan joined us for the spectacle.  After 5 years of blogs you know the Carnaval drill -- parades, burning of coffin of ill humor, sayacas -- the whole nine yards. So we'll just stick in some pictures in keeping with my brevity pledge.

On the way to the parade we came across the Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the Flyers).

This is an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony/ritual. The ritual consists of a dance & the climbing of a 30-meter pole from which four participants launch themselves from the top twirling around as they are tied to a rope until they descend to the ground.

At the start of the Carnaval parade are all the antique cars.



A very young king & queen of Carnaval.









I applaud the chaste, zipped up approach of the girl in  white.  Michael may differ



El Rey Feo (The Ugly KIng) -- You decide

Pokemon Battalion


Very, very gay but cool


Just not sure what they are....





Fiesta del Lodo - Otra Vez

Having just taken in the chaos that is the Chapala Mardi Gras parade we retired to the Beer Garden (which is nothing at all like a Beer Garden) for a couple of beers and some chow.  The day was young and we contemplated what we might do.  I remembered that it was the Fiesta del Lodo (translation Mud Fiesta) and asked if they'd like to take it in.  Much to my amazement John and Susan said yes. The fiesta involves crazy people (generally18-25 --their brains have not reached full development) racing their ATVs, Jeeps, Hummers and one very brave/stupid VW Beetle through the mud flats and into the lake.  It is hot, it is dusty (above the flats) muddy (below the flats) and many people are drinking Vampiros and other "ethnic" drinks from about 10 AM on.  To be honest, I was not sure this would be John and Susan's cup of tea.  I mean they are urbanites, rather cosmopolitan and I thought more inclined to a polo match than a mud fest.  Once more, I was wrong, wrong, wrong! They loved it!  Particularly Susan. You just NEVER know.  But there is a lot to like.  It is really Silly.  I mean you drive into the Lake to get stuck.  If you don't get stuck you just keep doing in until you DO get stuck. It is a family affair.  There was a family tailgating in their car stuck in the shallows of the lake complete with umbrella having a picnic.  It defies all safety rules. No helmets, no seat belts, no sunscreen, dogs and children running in front of vehicles, 8 year olds driving vehicles.  I was disappointed this year that the models in the go-go boots and short shorts were missing but hey, you can't have everything.

Michael's camera battery died so these are last years photos but, believe me, it's the same every year.


There are ALWAYS dancing girls






We went up to Tapalpa (a mountain village vaguely Swiss/Mexican) and ate a lot of food all around and then it was time for John and Susan to leave.  And then it was Lent.  And now it is quiet (relatively).  Well, since Benito Juarez Day which was Monday which is to say it has been quiet for one day -- we take what we can get.



We placed Susan in front of the impressively sized Piedras both because she is lovely and to provide scale

John is surprisingly strong for a geriatric



Don't Move Here!~ But You Can Visit

I know...I know... I've exhorted all of our NOB friends to move down here and join us.  I lauded the lovely climate, the reasonable cost of living, the sweetness of the Mexican people yada,yada, yada. Well, forget it.  Don't you DARE buy here.  We can barely move! Now my feelings erupted on Monday which was a collision of the High Season (snowbirds) and Benito Juarez Day (National Holiday). It took me a 1/2 hour to get from one end of town to the other -- and this is not a large town.  If I wanted that I would have kept commuting on Rte. 128!  So, I'm sorry there is just no more room. There is one two lane road that runs through town.  There is no way to build another thoroughfare unless you carve into the mountains (landslides in rainy season) or build over the Lake (glug, glug after you are run off the road by the Guadalajarans).  And they should stay home too!  They drive like maniacs turning the two lane road into a four lane road, going down one way streets (most streets) the wrong way and ACCELERATING through red lights. Oye.  So, no more room at the inn. I'm sure I'll mellow out when the Snowbirds fly home (any day now) and Lent may settle down the Guads for another month.  And just when my equanimity is restored, Semana Santa will be upon us.  And that's the REALLY crazy holiday.  So, anyway, have fun as spring reveals itself and tell yourself what a gorgeous place you live in....because we're all out of room.

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