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The Rebozo (Shawl) parade was the last of the Independence Day Celebrations. The Globos are at the beginning of the holiday, on the Saturday before the 16th of September Independence Day Parade. And the Bebozo Parade is always after the big parade. It is on the 17 of September. In between these two celebrations there are several others. Plus, many of the restaurants create their own celebrations and...

Combate de Flores, translated, it means flower fight. But actually it is the story of romance. The romance of the way Ajijic was in the past and how it is now. It is also about how the young people used to court each other. And as you may see in the photos below, some current courting going on. Dancing Couple I am going to write as much as I can remember or read of my own notes, the stories that...

After a few months of the rainy season, the Globos Festival kicks off many holidays and hopefully, less rain. Bring on the sunshine! I am ready. And this was one of the prettiest days of the Globos I have ever experienced. There were no signs of rain. Just fluffy white clouds. It was perfect for sending up the fantastic paper mache creations. The first two photos are of the ones belonging to...

There are not many festivals in this area during the rainy season so I was excited to see the flyer about a festival in Chapala. The Oaxaca Festival. Running from July 27th through August 8th. It looked like a lot of activities were happening and Sunday was their biggest day. I took the bus to Chapala and was disappointed. There were only a few stalls in the plaza. I didn't see any craft demonstrations or...

The Verbena Celebration was held at the Ajijic Plaza on April 9th, Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, Palm Sunday. Verbena has several meanings. It is a flowering plant that has 250 different species in it. It is a carnival. Also an agricultural show, amusement park and dance party. But I think dance party is the most appropriate meaning at this celebration. I didn't stay for the dancing, which was after...

Capirotada (comida de cuaresma) is traditionally served during the Lenten period, especially on Good Friday. The recipe is even recorded as early as the 1640s. Each ingredient symbolizes the Passion of Christ and is a reminder of the suffering of Christ, especially on Good Friday.   There are many different combinations of these ingredients and additions to the recipe. But here are the symbols....

Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday in French. The first recorded Mardi Gras was in 1699. The first one in the United States was in Mobile, Alabama, started by a Frenchman named Nicolas Langlois, in 1703. The date changes every year in accordance with Easter and the beginning of Lent. This year it was on March 28th. The next day, Wednesday, is called Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent. Lent lasts until...

This year the 39th annual Chili Cook-Off was again held at Todolandia Water Part. But it was much further up the hill. I, as usual, arrived too early, walked up that hill and was too tired to walk back down to watch the parade arrive. So all you are getting is a photo of the funny looking fish at the entrance of the park that I took on my way up the hill.  To me, it looks like a whimsical representation...

Constitution Day was on February 5th but it was celebrated as a national holiday on Monday, February 6th. Many stores were closed on the 6th but the parade was on Sunday, February 5th. I forgot about the holiday and happened to be walking around town when I saw people waiting along the side of the street to see the parade. So I waited for it too. I have gone to several Constitution Day parades and this was...

The Mexican Revolution started on November 20th 1910 and lasted for ten years. When the Mexican Constitution was enacted in 1917, that was close to the end of armed conflict. Porfirio Diaz had been president of Mexico for 35 years and he had a stranglehold on the country. He was ousted from power and exiled in France in 1911. The children loved being in the parade. Many schools were represented and...