MEXICAN FIESTA and A STICK IN THE MUD
It has been quite a busy time for us lately. The last week or so we have been involved in three separate events. This installment you are receiving stories about two of those activities – one about our annual fiesta and one about a trip to the PV Zoo - much of which will be known to those of you who have been following our newsletter/blog for a while. The pictures even may look familiar because the events change only slightly from year to year, especially for the fiesta. Mrs. T does not mention that the fiesta is more than religious, having nightly entertainment, booths of food, games of chance, clothing for sale, children's rides, etc. It is very much a carnival in addition to the religious intentions.
You may recall that Ron, Diane, and R went to the zoo last year; I was unable to go. This year all four of us went and had a great time, with an unusual twist of events due to my clumsiness.
A special 'thank you' to Ron for several photos. So read on and enjoy.
Fiesta
Last week was the annual fiesta at Bucerias. Every town has its own saint and ours is Our Lady of Peace. So in January on her saint day the whole town turns out for a fiesta which lasts about a week. Every night a different colonia (section of the parish) is responsible for the peregrination which is a religious parade. The peregrinacions usually have floats, costumed Indian dancers, a little mariachi band playing religious songs, and people of the colonia carrying lighted candles. Sometimes other groups are included. Dan was impressed when one night the hotel workers marched in union with the maids flourishing their brooms, mops and buckets.
But the biggest parade is on the last day which is a special celebration of Our Lady as the Queen of the Sea and Land. On this day the fishing boats sail across the bay from La Cruz. They are all decorated and some come right up on the beach where they are blessed. This year the Bishop came down to bless them; he is the one in the red hat. (We do not recall him attending in previous years. – dt) The waves were a little higher than usual so this was more exciting but everyone made it okay, including the children dressed as Mary, angelitas, and baby Jesus.
After the boats are blessed comes the parade of caballeros (cowboys). I have always thought riding sidesaddle is ridiculous but it is a wonderful way to show off your fancy skirts. These horses have been taught how to dance. I think this is the neatest thing. When the vaqueros want them to dance they hold the reins a little tighter so the horses arch their necks and they look beautiful. One thing - the horses like to do it! I was watching when the horses were standing around waiting for the parade to start. The mariachis started practicing one of their songs. Some of the horse started dancing all by themselves without any prompting from their riders.
After the horse parade is a mass blessing all and sundry. This mass was very crowded and I squeezed into the standing room only at the back. But the Bishop was very long winded and after a while I snuck back out. I think God will understand.
At night came the fireworks which featured a castillo. When one of the parts that go in a circle got stuck, a man climbed up and gave it a shove; he needed to do that a couple of times. Not a job that I would want. Now we are all blessed, stuffed with fair food, entertained, exhausted, and happy. In only twelve months we will do it again.
The Bishop in his red beanie and other pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157623183036055/
About that stick
This week we went to the Puerto Vallarta Zoo with our friends Ron and Diane. It is a hands-on kind of zoo reminiscent of old zoos in the
Dan took my remarks to heart and got in the spirit of the thing. He and Ron took a lot of photos of Diane and me feeding the animals. We bought bags of food and fed: carrots, peanuts, bread, corn, and food pellets trying to get the right food for the right animal. I kissed the camel; it was a bit like kissing Dan when he had a mustache! (Some you may recall my 'rabbi' look. –dt) We threw food in the hippo's big mouth. She would open wide when we yelled, "OPEN!" If we got the wrong food for the wrong animal they would ignore it and give us a disgusted look. After all of this feeding Diane and I were ready for a new thrill and went to investigate if, after paying a small fee, we could hold and play with some baby animals.
We were eyeing some baby tigers speculatively, when Dan and Ron who were down looking at the adult tigers called us urgently. It seems as if, in some twisted interpretation of my remark Dan had dropped his walking stick into the tigers' pen below. (Dan naturally assures me that this was an accident.). The tigers were enthusiastic about this new form of entertainment. One tiger immediately retrieved the stick and after sniffing it a bit, carried it around showing the other tiger his prize. As I had the most Spanish it fell to me to try to explain the situation to the zoo employees. Do you understand? "Entiende?" I asked. "Mas or menos." The keeper replied. This translates as, 'more or less'. I think he was still a little unclear as to exactly how or why the stick got in the pen. We were not concerned about the walking stick but were worried that it might harm the tigers if they managed to get it apart. The keeper fed the tigers and locked them in while he went to retrieve the walking stick, somewhat muddy and covered in tiger slobber. He graciously refused a tip for this.
After all of this excitement it was almost anticlimactic when Diane and I went to play with the baby tigers. I guess a good time was had by all including both the adult and the baby tigers. And Dan is explaining how the teeth marks got on his stick when he was fighting off the tigers.
Tigers and other critters: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157623184109231
Hope all of you are enjoying your winter.
Dan and Rebecca
www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com
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