While Carnaval festivities at lakeside may lack the aura of big time Mardi Gras celebrations in places like Rio de Janiero, New Orleans and Venice, you can be sure that we are in for plenty of revelry that cranks into high gear this weekend and peaks on Tuesday, March 4.
Derived from Latin, the word Carnaval translates into “farewell to flesh,” referring to the raucous public carousing that precedes six weeks of solemn Lenten fasting and penitence.
Chapala’s traditional kickoff was Thursday night’s Entierro del Mal Humor, the blazing cremation of bad moods, sandwiched between a high-spirited street parade and the coronation of the Monarch of Mirth.
Another Carnaval parade on Sunday, March 2 sets off along Avenida Madero at 10 a.m., featuring costumed dancers, floats, batucada drummers, marching musicians and more lively attractions.
Ajijic takes it up a notch with its madcap Desfile de Carnaval on Tuesday, March 4. Masked Sayacos and Sayacas dance through downtown accompanied by a throng of merrymakers who join in showering spectators with massive quantities of baking flour and confetti. Some onlookers get kicks from being flung aboard the infamous Colchonazo, a float equipped with flour-drenched mattress.
The parade starts between 10 and 11 a.m., running west along Calle Constitución-Ocampo, then doubling back towards the plaza at Seis Esquinas via Hidalgo.
Meanwhile, live entertainment and a commercial fair is happening daily after dark at Carnaval headquarters inside Chapala’s La Cristianía park. The celebration wraps up on Tuesday with three high-decibel banda groups leading the finale dance party running from 9 p.m. until the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
Catch a full dose of typical Carnaval festivity in a single day, Sunday, March 2, in nearby Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos. A huge parade will traverse the center of town starting at 10 a.m., leading into the Toro de Once bull-wrangling hoedown at the Plaza de Toros arena on the northern outskirts.
Ajijic to erupt in a blazeof color
Bright colors and artistic creativity stand out in Ajijic’s annual Mardi Gras parade, set for Tuesday, March 4, starting between 10 and 11 a.m. The route runs west along Calle Constitución-Ocampo, then doubling back towards the plaza at Seis Esquinas via Hidalgo. Chapala’s Carnaval parade is on Sunday, March 2, 10 a.m.