Mardi Gras Madness and Two Week Long Easter

 A Note of Explanation

We have failed to blog for almost four months... a record. We really don't have any good reasons but rather a basket full of boring or pedestrian excuses.  We shall not take up shelf space in your mind by reiterating them.  Suffice it to say that we are back in the saddle.  Even though some of you may have read of our Lenten and Easter festivities in past years we're bringing them back on stage just because they exude color and come as close to religion as you'll ever get from us.  So, onward.

We Can Make this Celebration last for Four Months

In most countries Easter is either not celebrated at all or  it lasts for a day.  In some Catholic countries it goes for six weeks with varying amounts of rigorous observance.  Mexico (or at least our Village) has managed to elongate the fun to almost four months.  The ball gets rolling in January with the weekly appearance of the Sayacas.  Starting in January the Sayacas run the streets chasing young boys and showering them with copious amounts of flour.  Bystanders are perfectly fair game.  

The Sayacas are men who have dressed up as women in flowery frocks and beguiling wigs.  Some race down the cobblestones in heels which even a twenty year old woman wouldn't attempt.  This is no L.G.B.T.Q event so calm down any far-right culture warriors. Macho villagers have been performing this bizarre celebration before that cumbersome abbreviation was even imagined.  The origins of this charming tradition are vague/contradictory/fragmented but it has something to do with a village woman imprisoned in a mental facility who adored all men and when she escaped (frequently) and would be rebuffed. she would chase the man tossing flour or face powder at him in anger.  It's all quite unclear but no one obsesses about it and the fun continues.  The culmination of the Sayacas' shenanigans is the Mardi Gras celebration when they are joined by floats, bands, and not a small number of drunks in a marvelous parade.

There is always a lot of anticipation before any of the parades, because one can never predict exactly when they will start. However this gives the vendors time to peddle their treats.

Running, or at least walking rapidly, away from the Sayacas in order to avoid a face full of flour.

This Sayaca demonstrated a great hook shot flour toss.

Some of the spectators have already received a liberal coating of flour.

The amount of flour makes for a challenge in photographing the parade.

Not even the little ones are immune...

and young women are also a favorite target of the Sayacas.

No Carnaval parade is complete without its queens...

with this one riding on top of the car.

Brightly colored wigs are also de rigueur for the parade participants.

This queen had no court...

but the jesters were right behind her on another float.

No Ajijic parade is finished until the caballeras...

and caballeros come.

It's Time to get Serious 

OK, the party's over.  It's Lent.  The Village is almost quiet. No Ranchero music blasting at the Eventos at 1 AM on Saturday nights.  No cojetes firing off to celebrate who knows what.  The carnecerias (butchers) are closed on Fridays and the fish markets are jammed.  Everyone is resting up for the two week extravaganza of Semana Santa and Semana Pascua.  The first week, Semana Santa, is supposed to be solemn and religious.  The second week, Semana Pascua, is supposed to be celebratory (read wild) as we joyfully embrace Jesus' resurrection.  In reality it is hard to tell week 1 from week 2. Essentially every Mexican who can afford it flees from wherever they live and go somewhere else to celebrate for two weeks. Many, many, many of them choose our sweet little Lakeside nirvana as the site of their revelry.

But we adjust.  We perform all grocery shopping and errand running before 10 AM and then sequester ourselves in our abodes for the duration of do you wanna call them and ask her scenes does accessories Deatrick oh that's fine keeps flipping back up why OKthe day.  The main road through town must be avoided at all cost.  It took a friend an hour to get from West Ajijic to the Walmart -- no more than 5 miles.  You must assume that all the Tapatios (people from Guadalajara) will be driving down the streets in the wrong direction and at high speed.  They will not say buenas tardes to you when you say it to them.  They are quite a bit like New Yorkers. It's like being under siege but with a known end date and the invaders are not truly hostile.

The Spectacle

Ajijic puts on an amazing Passion Play for multiple days and nights.  The first couple of years we lived here we attended all of them -- including following Jesus up to the mountain in the pitch dark over cobblestones with torches flickering and providing the only illumination.  Not doing that again.  Now this is a little village and all the prop construction, costume creation and actors are volunteers from town.  It was always performed in the forecourt of the main village church which suffered from a tremendous lack of shade and a less than happy or cooperating priest.  So this year they moved the performance to the bullring and we felt we had to go to see how it translated. 

 Also we knew we could sit in the shade.  It worked pretty well.  If you squinted you could believe you were in a coliseum rather than a bull ring and the sound system was much better than in years past.  It was interesting that for the first time they gave a summary of what was going on for each act of the play -- in Spanish and English.  Clearly bible study is on the downswing in Ajijic. The other big difference between the Church and the Bull Ring was in decorum.  At the Church everyone knew not to clap (I mean consider what is going on).  At the bull ring, despite numerous pleas from the persons summarizing the events the crowd clapped and cheered.   Odd.  Plus refreshments.  No refreshments at the Church even if you were passing out from dehydration and heat exhaustion.  At the bullring they were pacing the aisles selling doughnuts, popsicles, coke, candy.  I didn't see any beer but I wouldn't be surprised.  The state police (clad in body armor) were chasing the vendors away but they persisted.  No armed guards at the Church.

Getting there early guaranteed a shady spot to view the Pasión de Cristo,...

but some hardy souls braved the full sun.

Dale Palfrey, our intrepid local reporter, had a great viewing location, but it was in full sun.

Our friend Phil Rylett provided the English translation before each of the acts.

Claudia Procula, wife of Pontius Pilate, wore a dress to match the curtain.

Pontius Pilate and Claudia receive the Sanhedrin...

but keep them at bay with the spears of their guards.

Herod's court featured more hangers on...

some standing, some sitting & some lounging.

Jesus appears before Herod,...

who appears to admire his cloak,

raises a glass of wine in a toast...

and then allows the hangers on to mock Jesus, before sending him back to Pontius Pilate.

Notice the addition of the "live" gold statuary...

as Jesus in escorted back to Pontius Pilate.

Pontius Pilate now has to ponder what to do...

while the Sanhedrin shout for crucifixion.

Maybe a little flogging will satisfy the Sanhedrin...

then drag Jesus back,...

crown him with thorns and allow the soldiers to beat him up....

for their obvious amusement.

Pontius consults with Claudia (who has changed her dress). Notice the shift in the statues position....

as the statue is no longer holding the bottle up in this photo.

Pilate tries to convince the Sanhedrin that Jesus...

has suffered enough and should not be crucified.

In a final attempt to spare Jesus he has the mob choose between letting the  the thief and murderer Barrabas free or Jesus (and we all know how this one ends).

Pilate receives the proclamation of crucifixion from the scribe...

declares the sentence...

and Claudia hands back the outer garment of Jesus to cover him.

The soldier whips Jesus to take up the cross...

and make the strenuous journey to Calvary.

Authenticity is important in the Pasión de Cristo, and so the two thieves crucified with Christ carry their cross beams to their crucifixion.

We Set Forth Once More

After an abnormally long, but pleasant, stint at home base we are hitting the trail once more.  We are leaving on May 1st for a month on a driving tour of Italy.  We have encountered a number of SNAFUS. even prior to departure so, dear readers, I feel you are in for yet another helping of our travel mishaps and adventures.  We hope you are all well and enjoying spring.  Take care and we'll keep you in the loop as we mount our assault on Italy.

The Divine Day of the Dead

This One's for you Linda...

My cousin Linda was all psyched to come down with her daughter Kelly to immerse themselves totally in the Day of the Dead. However, the U.S. Passport Agency and the State of New Jersey Bureau of Records had other plans and thus they had to cancel.  So, as a consolation prize we are going to include a brief blog on the Day of the Dead for all of your viewing pleasure.

Picture (If you can and you probably can't) American Kids Doing This

Our first stop was the Malecon in Chapala where high school students were busily constructing alters to honor the Dead.  Each year there is a contest with a theme as to whom the alters are honoring.  One year it was environmentalists that were killed by cartels (long story -- has to do with illegal logging and animal trade),  This year it honored Mexican feminists.  I don't believe any of them were killed by cartels.  So, there they all were.  Maybe 150 to 200 high school kids totally concentrated on creating these very elaborate altars each honoring their favorite feminist.  The carpets and designs on them are created out of flower petals using stencils and a great deal of patience.  They have 6 hours to create them and then the judging occurs.  At five o'clock the finished products are displayed and at sundown each alter is lit by candles creating an amazing street scene.

The care, time and attention devoted to creating the altars is quite astounding, as can be seen in these photos.

This includes the items that are made specifically for the altars.

These two photos show how stencils are used to create the intricate patterns and words on the altars.

Catrinas also decorate the area around the altars.

Some of the young people are made up as living Catrina & Catrin.

This is the Pan de los Muertos made for Dia de los Muertos. It is a form of pan dulce (sweet bread).

This Catrina is very modern as she clutches her cell phone (perhaps to better communicate with the dead).

This individual is getting his Catrin makeup.

Next Stop:  The Cemetery of Course

Mmid afternoon we decided to stop by the Ajijic Panteon.  For a couple of days we would pass people as we were driving who would be carrying giant wreaths of flowers or bouquets or both walking in the direction of the cemetery.  By the afternoon of November 2 you couldn't park within 1,000 feet of the panteon (cemetery).  Outside the gates food vendors were set up complete with tables and chairs and large expanses of marigolds (the official Day of the Dead flower) were spread out to be bought and placed on the graves.

Inside the gates Mariachi band members were gathering having been summoned by families to serenade their loved ones.

In Mexico death is regarded as merely another phase of life and is not as feared as it is in some other parts of the world.  While they don't believe in reincarnation, they do believe that on the days of Nov. 1 and 2 the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead are in the closest proximity.  As they say,"the veil is thinnest at this time and it is possible to reach out to your departed family members."  So, entire families will bring or buy food and sit at the grave (sometimes with the food balanced on the crypt) and eat and chat with the deceased.  

These photos show how colorfully the panteon is decorated for Dia de los Muertos.

Finally, We Made Atlas Obscura!

Devoted blog readers will be familiar with the Atlas Obscura which is a website (and book) that lists off beat, interesting and sometimes just really strange events, locations, museums etc. around the world.  Two of my favorites were the Froggy Museum in Split and the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb.  Well, it was only a matter of time until Ajijic scored and entry... and we have arrived.  A local artist, Efren Gonzalez created an entire wall of death masks (you could purchase your very own mask & our friends Allan and Barbara did).  These masks were affixed to the outer wall of a primary school -- a tad macabre-- and are lit every year at the Day of the Dead. It is just the kind of thing the Atlas Obscura loves and thus our entry made the cut.  Michael will include a photo.

These two photos show just a portion of the skull wall.

Due to Michael's having a terrible cold we had to bail on the evening activities at the Plaza and the nighttime parade but (God willing) there is always next year.  And hopefully next year Linda, Kelly and all our other friends who want to indulge in the Day of the Dead will be able to visit with us.