Year after year, Ajijic’s madcap Año Nuevo parade has wowed spectators with creative handiwork applied to a string of quirky floats, platoons of paraders decked out in funny costumes, plenty of high-spirited antics and the lively tunes of marching bands peppered with potent sky rockets.
The tradition originated many years ago when clan leaders residing on Calle Francisco Villa and Calle Alvaro Obregón figured that ushering in the New Year with a humorous cavalcade followed by a friendly match between veteran futbolistas down at the waterfront Tecoluta soccer pitch might generate enough to good vibes to dispel antagonisms between the west-end neighborhood’s rival street gangs to last the rest of the year.
Villagers will hear cohetes blasting off from Seis Esquinas around 1 p.m. if the parade is on for this Friday. Silence will signal postponement until 2022.