The 2009 Mazatlan Carnival |
Welcome to the Mazatlan Carnival 2009
" Universal Fantasy ... a trip for the carnivals of the world "
From February 19 to February 24
 Customs and traditions of Mazatlan’s Carnival
The birth of the Carnival: The first stage for the Mazatlan Carnival was the Machado Plaza. According to some historians, the first Carnival in Mazatlan took place on Tuesday, February 22, 1898. The problems that government faced in putting on a carnival in that era derived from the rowdiness of the pueblo, in particular that of the lower caste neighborhoods. They partied like Cossacks and any difference that came about was settled by fisticuffs, thrown rocks and machetes and various people died. The parade could not be headed up by the queen because of fears for her safety in front of the crowd. This first post of Carnival royalty was held by Gerardo de la Vega. He was the first “king” of Carnival.
Historic Facts
The Wars
The first battles were rock throwing between people from the wharf area of town, the Mueys and the Abastos. The battles were supposed to be in fun, with flour filled egg shells (casacaronzazos) tossed in order to spoil the ostentatious dresses of the “perfumed” members of Mazatlan’s upper society, but they became violent.
Its kings and queens
There is no doubt that women took over Carnival. They noisily displaced men until 1943 and really men were not brought to the forefront (albeit shared) again until 1965 when they were selected as the Ugly Kings. They were selected apart from the women and pretty much reduced to closing the Carnival parades of floats in front of cat calling crowds. Today the participation of men is once again dignified. They term “ugly kings” has been replaced by “king of happiness” and they truly do bring joy to the dances and do justice to their royal carriages. Such is the case of Cruz Lizarraga’s Banda El Recodo who were elected as a group as the “king of happiness” for 2009.
Masks
The old tradition of disguising one’s self with bright colored capes and masks also has dark antecedents. The covering protection of a mask and the shouting of “do you know me, little mask?” resulted in many attacks on women. Many a passing indiscretion resulted from this custom of disguising one’s self, but let’s not forget that Carnival has its origins in the pagan world and therefore there was a lot of licentiousness
The election of the queen and king
This has also contributed in a harsh manner to this “cultural and historical” aspect of our great Carnival party. We consider this the most sensitive part of Carnival and there is a lot of undercurrent going on as the different candidates via to be selected, but there has been a lot of fraud, also. Gossip flows like a fountain and the staunchest defenders of the queens are their mothers. There have been death threats and law suits over the election of a queen; however the process is repeated every year and the beautiful women who compete always line up to represent the pueblo. Lately there have been foreign candidates and some say this is because people do not openly trust the selection process. Still others claim that the inclusion of foreigners is natural since Mazatlan wants to be a cosmopolitan place. In fact, the first queen of Carnival was a foreigner, Winny Farmer. The reality is that the women of Mazatlan really do not want foreign competition, although they do not admit it. They do not want a foreign woman to represent the city. In the end, however, it is the same old story. Selection process is not cleared up, the women are still with their macho men and many do not participate.
 The parades and floats of carnival
The pages of the history of Carnival in Mazatlan are filled with stories of the parades and the floats. This is the backbone of Carnival and we can’t imagine a Carnival without the parades and floats. This has given the royal stamp of approval to the big party and the chosen theme of each different Carnival becomes the axis around which the entire event is staged. Parades have evolved thanks to the talent and art of Dr. Rigoberto Lewis Rodriguez (affectionately known as Rigo) who directs the construction of these rolling fantasies. He has done this for more than 50 years and every year thousands of Carnival-goers pay tribute to him as the parade of floats passes by.
But instead of talking about it, let’s all participate in Carnival from February 19 to 25.
|
ESPAÑOL
