TRUE TRAVEL

by Tirekicking Today

VERACRUZ, Mexico - Never a quiet city, at least in the central historic district and along the malecon (waterfront), Veracruz goes all out at Carnival time. Introductory parades for the 2011 Carnival began on Wednesday, March 5, rolling down Avenida Independencia and passing the always-lively Zocalo (main square).

These launch parades took place for three evenings, giving visitors an opportunity to get an up-close view of the king and queen of Carnival, as well as hundreds of dancers and musicians. Those women who weren’t wearing striking costumes were clad in gorgeous evening gowns, some with trains that followed them by six feet or more. The first parade featured Veracruz children, who looked to be just as enthused–and nearly as adept at parade behavior–as their adult equivalents.

Don’t want to stand along the sidewalk to view these evening extravaganzas? No problem. Just pay 20 or 25 pesos (around $2.00) for a seat, on one of the hundreds of reserved folding chairs set up for the occasion. That way, you get an unobstructed view of all that passes, while enjoying a reasonably comfortable seat.

Loud, intense, and unabashedly colorful, these early evening parades last 30 or 40 minutes each. In the afternoon, smaller parades are held in outlying colonias (neighborhoods), but the helpful young fellow at the Tourist Office did not recommend looking for those.

Saturday began with a group of boats cruising around the harbor, after being packed full of Carnival visitors. A long bus ride to Boca del Rio and back had demonstrated the magnitude of the grandstand setup for Saturday evening’s big event, which would begin several miles to the south of central Veracruz and end close to the popular malecon walkway along the waterfront. Fitted with half a dozen rows of uncomfortable-looking seats, those grandstands had been erected along both sides of the wide boulevard.

All seats in the grandstand were reserved. But unless you headed south, to the beginning portion of that evening’s parade, you’d have a long wait until the first revelers arrived. Because we had to catch a bus late that evening, we decided to skip the reserved seats and try for occasional glimpses of the passing floats and dancers and musicians. That’s all anyone could get, too, because the grandstand segments had been set up right next to each other, with no space that would permit viewing from the rear.

No matter. We joined the teeming crowd right at the end of the parade route, and managed to see at lest some of the lavish floats–especially, the taller ones, looking over the heads of the thousands of visitors attempting to do the same.

Veracruz has never been a popular destination for Americans and Canadians in Mexico. Or for Europeans, for that matter. Some blame the beaches, which are not the blissful-looking white sand that’s found on the Pacific coast. Veracruz is a port city on the Gulf of Mexico, and beaches have never been a strong selling point.

Mexicans, on the other hand, see Veracruz as a highly desirable place for short holidays. They clearly accounted for the majority of the million-plus visitors said to have hit Veracruz for Carnival days.

Though heavy in places, crowds were manageable and non-threatening, with no fear of being stampeded or trampled upon. That’s not always the case in Mexico, where crowds can sometimes grow unruly; but such incidents are relatively uncommon. As a rule, no one tries to shove you aside or cause any sort of fuss.

Later in the evenings, after the initial parades, hip-hop or rock music echoed through the downtown area, from performers on a stage set up for the occasion. (Even in ordinary times, live music in the Zocalo is a regular attraction in the evenings–including the stylish danzon, which older Veracruzanos enjoy several times each week.) During Carnival, some impressively talented performers took to the stage. They all add to the incessant marimba music that has long made Veracruz a distinctive spot–quite unlike any other city in Mexico.

Loading with history, Veracruz still emits an aura of thriving, mild decadence, befitting an international port. Clearly, it’s a lot tamer now than it used to be. Still, you can almost sense the tensions that much have blasted their way out of some of those bars and cantinas of Veracruz past. Those who visit today are likely to want to come back, too–whether it’s Carnival time or not.

Note: For a far different kind of Carnival, see our coverage of the festivities in the Mayan community of San Juan Chamula, in the state of Chiapas, on March 8, 2011.