Another Weekend, Another Fiesta

. . . but this fiesta, Dia de los Locos, Day of the Crazies, holds a special place in my heart. In truth it is only another excuse to fire off a truckload of aerial bombs, but I love it. A huge costume party it is. This fiesta also happens to coincide with St. Anthony's own special weekend. He is the patron saint of my neighborhood, colonia san antonio.

Day of the Crazies IV

I do not really do parades, but I am a whole lot less cynical about them than I used to be. Sunday we did not attend the parade proper. We did, however, walk along the street where the parade was forming up. I will close out my over-reporting on Día de los Locos with a few snapshots from that walk.




The corner of ancha san antonio and calle cardo under repair
on a chilly day last February.

The corner of ancha san antonio and calle cardo
on a hot day last Sunday afternoon.

















































My own favorite snapshot of the day.




The clean-up ladies brought up the rear.








La Mexicana's special, jim dandy, hand-painted Dia de los Locos tennis shoes.










Probably the best way to watch the parade, sitting outside on a box in the shade watching the television inside with a couple of cold liters standing by.

Día de los Locos II

The lead photo in the preceding entry was of the San Antonio fountain on calle 20 de enero a block from the plaza.









This morning it was time to rally again at Plaza San Antonio for a singing mass outside before the start of the parade. The featured tune: "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan.
























Most of the participants in the parade gather here at the plaza first.














The singing mass took a long time.


































It's a family affair. (The title of a great song by what group?)











































Finally, comes the time to migrate the couple of blocks over to the east past the tennis courts to the main drag, ancha san antonio, for the parade. . .

Día de los Locos I

The fiesta season opens with Día de los Locos, the central figure of which is Saint Anthony. I live in the neighborhood called Colonia San Antonio. Consequently, this is a large event here.








Saturday they brought San Antonio to the church.





Those kids up there with the bells can really ring 'em.









Devotees of San Antonio walked on their knees to the church with the help of family and friends who placed little pieces of carpet or blankets on the stone in front of them.







A gourmet dinner at Stephen's new apartment at the tennis courts.









Then fireworks. As usual the delightful Mexican fireworks were totally unpredictable. The flying saucer once again came down in flames right in the middle of the crowd up in the plaza in front of the church.





This is Fred, Stephen, Simon, and I with the chief fire extinguisher guy.

Today, Sunday, will be the big day.