Traditions

Every town in Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) in their local plazas.  Ajijic had one of the largest celebrations I have seen since moving here twelve years ago. This year they had altars up and Catrinas. Many more people were celebrating the holiday there than in previous years. It all happened on Friday late afternoon and night, November 2nd. Above is a photo of one of...

Halloween is also called the Día de las Brujas in Spanish. The Day of the witches. We are going to follow some little witches and goblins on their trick-or-treat adventure and I will give you some facts along the way. Maybe a few things that you didn't know. Halloween in Mexico is not a public holiday but it is celebrated just the same. Not in any different ways than in the USA or other countries...

The 2018 Thriller the World, TTW, Dance was held this year on Saturday, October 27th. It is always the Saturday before Halloween. There were a hundred participants. The age range was from 85 years old down to 4 years old. I am not sure yet, but they may have broken a world record for the group of oldest Thriller dancers in the world. Practice They had been practicing for many weeks for the dance,...

Combate de Flores, means war of the flowers, it is held each year in Ajijic, Lake Chapala Mexico. It is actually the opposite of war. It is a mating ritual, about love. It started when Mexicans all over the country got rid of their guns after the War. It was the exchange of guns for flowers. Couple dancing Plazas in towns of all sizes  started a tradition of using flowers as a way for young men to...

The children's (and adults) games are held every year on the fifteenth of September in the Ajijic Plaza. Other events happen after the games. A mariachi band played this year and the reading of the Grito. Then more music and dancing. I wasn't able to stay through all of the events but I saw the games. Two young girls The red, green, and white colors of the Mexican flag were seen all over town and...

The Mexican Independence Day parade was held on September 16th, 2018. It started on Revolution street and went through town, to six corners and back to the plaza. As usual, most of the participants in this parade are school children.  Thousands of school children all over Mexico get out with their teachers and parents to march. They are dressed in their school uniforms. They sometimes do intricate...

The Rebozo Fashion Show was held in the Ajijic Plaza the evening of September 9th, 2018.  I always enjoy seeing the women in their beautiful rebozos. In English, rebozo means shawl. So this event is to celebrate the shawls. And the women. It was supposed to start at six in the evening but they were on Mexican time, meaning an hour and a half later. In the meantime, I walked around the plaza taking photos....

Once again as every year and by far the most popular event, this Saturday, September 8, 2018, was the Globos traditional regatta. It launched off paper mache balloons and the beginning of the ten day Mexican Independence celebrations. The crowds that attends this wonderful tradition grows year by year, as do the size of the balloons. This year's Access Lake Chapala balloon was over 13 meters long. The...

Palm Sunday was on March 25th this year. I went to the same celebration last year and wrote about it then. But every year it is a bit different. It is also called Verbena Sunday. Verbena means a dance/celebration, or agricultural event. It is actually a fund raising event to pay for the Passion Play. Sign This event had small and large stands set up all around the Ajijic Plaza with signs above Palm...

The Feria de la Capirotada, also called the Spring Festival, was held again this year at the malecon in Ajijic. Capirotada is only made during the Lenten season. Lent this year is February 14th through March 29th. But the Capirotada is especially popular and served in many places on Good Friday, March 30th. The Entrance There is no fee for this event. It is held in the afternoon through the evening...