Party Time Arrives
Odin works the Malecon
Thursday February 7th 2013 – Ensenada
Carnaval has arrived. For those none believers among you, Carnaval is the celebration that proceeds Lent. Since Lent is the period when good Catholics give up the pleasures of the flesh for about forty days, there is a big celebration immediately proceeding Lent that celebrates the pleasures of the flesh.
I remember hearing about Marti Gras in New Orleans when I was ten or twelve years old and deciding that I had to see it someday. Well, Ensenada is NOT New Orleans, but I’m here and so is Carnaval.
I have to admit I’ve been a little excited getting to this day. In the last couple of days, I’ve been combing the Web learning about Carnaval in general and Ensenada’s in particular.
I was a little disappointed when I read one uptight suburban housewife’s review of Ensenada’s Carnaval. She was very grateful for the family orientation here and said that unlike many other places in the world, Mexico is very conservative and there is no nudity. Damn. Why bother?
Oh well, at least it’s going to be a giant party.
The streets downtown have been blocked off for a couple of days now while crews set up stages and taco stands. There is an electricity in the air as everyone anticipates the start of the festival.
The week-long party begins with the burning of Bad Humor. That is the official sign for everyone to kick off their worries and depression and party on. Then comes the crowning of the king and queen of Carnaval, then the juvenile king and queen.
There are about half a dozen or so stages with live music performed all night long. On Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday there are parades. Then the whole party culminates on Tuesday with the burning of Juan Carnaval. That signals the end of the pleasures of the flesh and everyone settles in for a month of misery during Lent.
As is so often the case, the anticipation outweighed the reality. Dawn and I knocked off work and headed home for a shower and clean clothes. I had been bending over all day long and my back was killing me. While Dawn took a shower, I stretched out on the bed and before you knew it, an hour had passed.
Carnaval has arrived. For those none believers among you, Carnaval is the celebration that proceeds Lent. Since Lent is the period when good Catholics give up the pleasures of the flesh for about forty days, there is a big celebration immediately proceeding Lent that celebrates the pleasures of the flesh.
I remember hearing about Marti Gras in New Orleans when I was ten or twelve years old and deciding that I had to see it someday. Well, Ensenada is NOT New Orleans, but I’m here and so is Carnaval.
I have to admit I’ve been a little excited getting to this day. In the last couple of days, I’ve been combing the Web learning about Carnaval in general and Ensenada’s in particular.
I was a little disappointed when I read one uptight suburban housewife’s review of Ensenada’s Carnaval. She was very grateful for the family orientation here and said that unlike many other places in the world, Mexico is very conservative and there is no nudity. Damn. Why bother?
Oh well, at least it’s going to be a giant party.
The streets downtown have been blocked off for a couple of days now while crews set up stages and taco stands. There is an electricity in the air as everyone anticipates the start of the festival.
The week-long party begins with the burning of Bad Humor. That is the official sign for everyone to kick off their worries and depression and party on. Then comes the crowning of the king and queen of Carnaval, then the juvenile king and queen.
There are about half a dozen or so stages with live music performed all night long. On Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday there are parades. Then the whole party culminates on Tuesday with the burning of Juan Carnaval. That signals the end of the pleasures of the flesh and everyone settles in for a month of misery during Lent.
As is so often the case, the anticipation outweighed the reality. Dawn and I knocked off work and headed home for a shower and clean clothes. I had been bending over all day long and my back was killing me. While Dawn took a shower, I stretched out on the bed and before you knew it, an hour had passed.
Odie always draws a crowd
About six o’clock, when the festivities were just beginning, I drug myself out of bed. My back hurt and I didn’t feel like going out partying. We hemmed and hawed for about fifteen minutes, then I made the decision to get going. After all we were here, why would we miss the year’s biggest party?
We drove into town and parked in the boat yard. The boat yard is right in the middle of the whole party. Then we went looking for the party.
We couldn’t find the main stage where the exhibition dancing was supposed to take place. The whole event resembled the mid-way at your local county fair.
There were carnival rides and games, even a good sized roller coaster. The same pop the balloon or knock over the milk bottles that we see in the US. There were two corn dog stands, but all the rest of the food was taquerias or pan dulce or other greasy Mexican treats.
And where were the crowds? I expected the streets to be wall to wall people. A few thousand people stretched over a twenty square block area and it felt very empty. On the mid-way, the carnival barkers pleaded for riders. Most of the rides sat empty.
The only real action was at the Fresca Stage where an announcer was calling men up from the crowd to meet the Fresca Girls. The girls were all young and pretty and wore skin-tight costumes that are supposed to look like Fresca bottles. Not exactly the Swedish Bikini Team, but very pretty women none the less.
We walked on. “Don’t you want to stay and watch?” Dawn asked. Not really, I couldn’t understand what they were doing and it didn’t look that interesting.
We eventually made our way to the Texas BBQ. Dawn had met the manager on a walk with Odin and he invited us to come have a drink with him. When we got there, they were closed. The Malecon was deserted. Everyone was either in hiding or at the party. None of the businesses on the Malecon were open.
What a disappointing night. I gave up and we headed back home to warm up left over spaghetti and head to bed.
Dawn thinks that more people will show up over the weekend, especially for the parades. We will go back on Saturday to see the parade and see if the party picks up.
We drove into town and parked in the boat yard. The boat yard is right in the middle of the whole party. Then we went looking for the party.
We couldn’t find the main stage where the exhibition dancing was supposed to take place. The whole event resembled the mid-way at your local county fair.
There were carnival rides and games, even a good sized roller coaster. The same pop the balloon or knock over the milk bottles that we see in the US. There were two corn dog stands, but all the rest of the food was taquerias or pan dulce or other greasy Mexican treats.
And where were the crowds? I expected the streets to be wall to wall people. A few thousand people stretched over a twenty square block area and it felt very empty. On the mid-way, the carnival barkers pleaded for riders. Most of the rides sat empty.
The only real action was at the Fresca Stage where an announcer was calling men up from the crowd to meet the Fresca Girls. The girls were all young and pretty and wore skin-tight costumes that are supposed to look like Fresca bottles. Not exactly the Swedish Bikini Team, but very pretty women none the less.
We walked on. “Don’t you want to stay and watch?” Dawn asked. Not really, I couldn’t understand what they were doing and it didn’t look that interesting.
We eventually made our way to the Texas BBQ. Dawn had met the manager on a walk with Odin and he invited us to come have a drink with him. When we got there, they were closed. The Malecon was deserted. Everyone was either in hiding or at the party. None of the businesses on the Malecon were open.
What a disappointing night. I gave up and we headed back home to warm up left over spaghetti and head to bed.
Dawn thinks that more people will show up over the weekend, especially for the parades. We will go back on Saturday to see the parade and see if the party picks up.