Carnaval in Mazatlan 3.5.2011

The town has been alive this past week. Preparations are underway for Carnaval – the 3rd largest celebration in the world behind Rio & New Orleans.

This is our 4th time experiencing Carnaval and it is always soooo much fun! Julie and I have been walking in the mornings and one morning we went down the malecon to check out the paper mache figures that lined the beach walk. They were quite colorful!



And of course the Carnaval parade! With such colorful floats & costumes…





And of course….the Alka Seltzer man!



The bands were loud & crazy, the dancers were fun to watch. It was warm and the crowd was energetic. It was fun, as usual…





A day or so before the parade was the ‘burning of good humor’ and a group of us cruisers went downtown to check it out. We decided to check out one of our favorite places to eat downtown – street potatoes! It’s literally a street vendor who takes up residence one a corner in town after 7pm and sells a stuffed potato that is heart-stoppingly good. Or bad, whichever way you want to look at it. Either way, they’re yummy!!!

As luck would have it, the ‘raton’ that was to be burned (that looked just like a hedgehog) was being loaded & setup directly across the street from where we were eating! The dancers were all dressed up and were fully cooperating in getting their photo taken…



As the procession began, a group of 4 guys shot fireworks into the sky in front of a truck carrying the bad humor raton, and a marching band played and the dancers danced and passed out flyers to everyone in the street.

We marched past the cathedral, which is gorgeous at night.



It was great – and the burning of bad humor was just the beginning of the night. The fireworks that night were exceptional – they were almost as good as Disneyland!





Julie and I decided to get in the mood by applying fake eyelashes that were being sold along with stick-on mustaches, beards, and your choice of masks, hats, & crazy flashing things. Too much fun! :-)