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Mardi Gras


artsnob

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Carnaval starts January 29 and goes until Fat Tuesday, with main activities in Chapala. The them this year is "hacer ruido" or "make noise". All events are free entry. I think you can buy VIP to the music concerts so you can sit down and have table service and nicer bathrooms. They are planning on bringing back some old traditions. Also, in the first night after the parade, they will be burning an effigy of Donald Trump.

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We saw a good fifteen minutes of ads last night at Cinemas del Lago for all the bandas that will be playing for free... most of them look like arena bands, and boy were those ads loud... in keeping with this year's theme. Some of them were pretty good. And the VIP prices varied between 200 and 1,000p.

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Carnaval is Feb. 9 this year. In Ajijic, there will be pre-carnaval parades and pandemonium in the Lienzo every Sunday starting around 11. It's not the regular parade route because there are no floats - only the wild and wacky zayaco(a)s chasing kids to pelt them with flour, bandas, and charros. The pre-carnaval parade starts on Calle Galeana, behind the church and winds around past the plaza, on to 6 corners, and loops back around to end up at the Lienzo charro for a half hour of total pandemonium, where gringos fear to tread. I have never seen a single gringo at this event!! I was here 4 years before I even found out about this exciting and wild event, which is a little more sedate now...they no longer let the young steers in the ring with all the kids at the same time.

Please note that the above parade route is the exact OPPOSITE of the regular parade routes which START near the Lienzo.

Per an email from HarryB: Feb 6 is expat day at Lienzo Charro Ajijic (where the tianguis is). There will be a free concert of traditional music at 4 p.m. Please come and enjoy mixing with the Mexican community

The biggest of the above events will be Sunday the 7th.

On Carnaval Day, the schools are out and the parade starts around 10am at the corner of Constitucion and Revolucion, where the tianguis is. It slowly goes to 6 corners and loops back around and ends up at the plaza for an afternoon of wild and wacky merry-making for all ages. Later in the afternoon, there will be a rodeo/charro evento in the Lienzo. It's our understanding that the Lienzo is no longer booking the very loud famous bandas after the outcry after the San Andres Fiesta - but they will continue to have their very fun events with local bandas, which are lots of fun!

Chapala may have a bigger parade - on the Sunday before Carnaval, which is always a Tuesday - but Ajijic's is more fun! Fortunately, you can go to both if you like.

HERE ARE VIDEOS - #1 IS MORE SEDATE, FROM LAST YEAR:

HERE IS A WILDER EPISODE FROM 2011

I'LL POST 2 MORE SHORT BUT WILD VIDEOS ON ANOTHER THREAD!

CLICK ON MY UTUBE USER NAME TO SEE MUCH MORE!

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Thanks for posting this arts nob as this helps me figure out when to return to Chapala. In years past the noise has been so loud from the concerts that no one in greater Chapala sleeps well. 4AM is the usual cut off time...concert goers arrive after local businesses are closed so I dont see how carnaval concerts benefit Chapala. I will wait til after the 9th of February..besides I understand its been very cold at night.

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That has been a tradition in Chapala for some time - but didn't it use to be only a week every night? 12 consecutive days is a lot! So, how do the people of Chapala react to this, considering that the sound systems, etc. get bigger every year?

I remember the opening day samba parade was quite fun some years ago, and this year they might be burning an effitgy or smashing a pinyata of Donald Trump as part of this celebration. It would be worth it to go just for that! :)

Because of the widespread ignorance of audio technology and its appropriate uses here, the noise issue will continue until people get together to officially complain to the authorities. The people making the noise love it, but the neighbors get mighty sick of it.

The Chapala schedule features mostly famous bandas who are often quite good, but now they are starting to feature a night of DJ techno and another night of Rap. For those of you who think you hate banda music, just wait until you have experienced the unique torture of those last 2 genres! That is what we sometimes hear in the noisy bars around Ajijic. Or coming out of passing cars.

Speaking of torture, it is fair to mention that the US military has been known to use very loud continuous metal type music to torture prisoners in both Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. Within a few days, you can make a person completely lose their mind without ever touching them. The gentleman's torture.

I'm waiting, but not holding my breath, for the generally very polite and gracious Mexican culture to wake up to the fact that it is NOT OK to seriously bother the neighbors with your noise, especially from commercial bars - and that it is perfectly OK to speak out and complain about such abuses.. Arena sound levels need to be limited to the major arenas, which only exist in big cities.

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You.ve nailed it.Essentially people not from this community are using Chapala as their playground. Problems of graffiti and gang tagging will increase. Probably some violence. Then Chapala will get lots of publicity butit will be negative, a black eye.

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