If you want to get 2014 off to a light-hearted start, don’t miss Ajijic’s wild and wacky Año Nuevo parade to be put on January 1 by residents of the west-end Barrio de Guadalupe.
The parade’s main feature is the string of whimsical floats put together by different contingencies of families and friends, each vying to wow spectators with the most creative hand-crafted decorative details, silly costumes and high spirited antics. Rival groups meet secretly for weeks in advance to dream up and execute surprise themes.
The custom goes back more than a decade, when clans residing on Calle Francisco Villa and Calle Alvaro Obregon first cooked up the idea of ushering in the new year with a friendly challenge aimed at dispelling every day neighborhood antagonisms. There are no set rules, just a common understanding that the ridiculous and even a touch of the risqué will get by without reproach.
The paraders queue up at Seis Esquinas, where Alvaro Obregon intersects with Ocampo, for a starting time loosely set at 12:30 p.m. The column heads east along Ocampo, snaking through the center of town and back to the starting point. The bizarre entourage then heads to the waterfront for a final spin around the Tecoluta soccer field where a series of amateur futbol matches and a full-blown party atmosphere prevails throughout the rest of the day.