Amazing road trip yesterday to Sahuayo, Michoacan's 479th festival honoring their patron saint, Santiago (St. James the Greater). Mardi Gras meets Carnival, we were definitely the only sober ones there. I was surprised to see Spiderman drinking. The day started with Bob and Rosa meeting up at Casa Brawner at 10am for coffee and sardines, then we set off towards Lake Chapala. We wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And we were also traveling with our friend, Santiago. Perfect. A partial list of the towns we traveled thru: Patzcuaro to Tingambato to Sevina, Nahuatzen, Cheran, thru Once Pueblas, near Patamban and Ocumicho, Loma Linda, Zamora, and a dozen other interesting little places. And dozens of topes (speed bumps) mostly noticed in advance. Everything was green and growing with majestic mountains as the backdrop for a fertile land. We saw strawberry fields and fields of corn, blue agave, squash, and catfish ponds. Wildflowers everywhere, including Indian Paintbrush, and men selling fresh, spiky red liche nuts and pitahaya on the roadside. Liche nuts taste kinda like plums or grapes, and the pitahaya were white and not quite as sweet as the magenta pitaya we had experienced. Both were weird, beautiful, and delicious. Saw lots of ornos (stacked brick ovens for making bricks), and lots of concrete teepee silos. Pulled into Sahuayo, then parked and walked several blocks to the main plaza in search of food and men wearing large feathered masks. Santiago steered us into a great little mom & pop, family-style eatery featuring an old man playing a grubby guitar (sounded good!). We ate the daily special and prepared ourselves for something else. Becky ran off with her camera in search of her Pulitzer while the rest of us shopped for zapatos (shoes) and walked towards the music. Saw a group of penguin clad folks jamming to a funky little band, then Wonder Woman and el Diabla walked by. We followed them and found ourselves in the midst of a constant stream of partygoers, Fred Flintstones, Luchadores, Pink Panthers, and a dozens of people festively dressed in LARGE masks. Children, too. So many bands, so much ponche (a drink made of pomegranate, chocolate, walnuts, coconut, apples, cinnamon, and cane alcohol), and all of the streets were lined with plastic chairs full of onlookers. After walking for awhile, a nice man asked if we'd like to sit with he and his family, so we did. He spoke English, said he lived in the States, and offered us the use of their baño. I guessed his family owned the business behind us. He said the two young boys next to me were his grandsons, so I said: "Me llama es Daniel. Como se llama?" To which they replied: "We're from LA; we're not from here." Many photos were taken and much confetti was thrown. The whole city was celebrating, and apparently it went on into the wee hours. The costumes were beautiful, and each mask weighed about 40 lbs. Many costumes included rows and rows of little aluminum tubes sewn onto the outfits like fringe. Heavy! Made a nice jingling sound. Met up with mi esposa at 6pm and everyone shared stories about what they'd seen, then we walked back towards our car and made plans to return next year for the 480th anniversary festival. Saw troupes of paraders resting beside their large hats near the basilica, and I tried one on. First one didn't fit but the next one was just right and nearly tore my nose off when I took it off. Amazing artistry goes into each one. So much thought and storytelling.
Drove the four hours home towards rain and lightning. And Servina was hoppin' on a Saturday night. Everyone out walking on wet streets, and boys on horseback were flirting with girls in pretty dresses. Came home exhausted and the dogs were fine, but they did break a cool bird-covered bowl we bought last year in San Jose de Gracia. Served us right. Our penance for leaving them behind...you guessed it...mortification of the flesh, and frisbee.
