This is a flower?

I spotted this thing the other day in a little yard behind a taqueria.  At first I didn't have a clue what it was, but as I got closer I recognized it as the flower of the banana tree.  Isn't it amazing?  It looks like something from outer space.

Here's a picture of another one that looks a little more flowerish.

And here's the green fruit.

I really like the looks of these trees.  If we lived here I'd plant one for sure so I could admire the amazing flower and eat the bananas.

Maggie the beach ambassador

Our sweet dog Maggie makes friends wherever she goes but she shines the brightest here in Mazatlan on the beach.  That's because she just loves to play catch with a stick or a ball or whatever's handy.  And here on the beach there are always kids that want to play.  The other day was a bonus day for her and for these three little girls from Colorado who were missing their dog at home.

Here she's leading them deeper into the water.

We're always happy when she meets up with kids because after eleven years of throwing balls and sticks we're a little tired of it!  Just doing a quick calculation, if we throw the ball for her 30 times a day (and that's conservative) it adds up to 120,450 throws.

Mexican wall art

 

Down in the centro there are some talented artists who decorate walls.  What do you think of these?  In my mind they're certainly not graffiti.  Or if they are, it's a higher form.

Then there's the lovely abstract art created when the plaster finishes on the old walls wears off in layers.  Or maybe some of the layers are paint covering up graffiti.  Take a look at this one.  I think I see some lips from a previous image there.  In any case, it's nice to look at.

I'm collecting some more of this found art and will share some with you in a while.

The gas company

Here in Mazatlan most people use propane for cooking and hot water and there's one company in town that delivers the gas.  The guys come with their big trucks and climb up on your roof with a hose to fill the tank. The name of the company is Gaspasa and there trucks all over town like the one above.  I for one cannot see these trucks without thinking of passing gas.  Not sure if this means the same thing in Spanish but I doubt it.  I think somebody should put out a Gaspasa T shirt.  I think there are quite a few people here who might buy one for a family member.

The Carnaval parade

Don't worry if you missed the Mazatlan Carnaval parade.  I'll give you a little summary of this darling spectacle.  This was a parade for people of all ages.  And many of them were in festive garb.

This is a young couple we met at the bus stop, ready to celebrate.

 

The malecon was filling up when we got there aboutd 3:30.  

 

Many people had set up camp for the afternoon while they were waiting.  Some even had barbecues going.

 

If you didn't bring a chair you could buy a little stool from this lady.  She was doing a brisk business.

  

These two girls were already bored with waiting.

But these young ladies were happy to model their special sunglasses.

Finally the parade began.  The first part was the commercial section.  It consisted of beautiful girls gyrating on top of trucks and tossing samples into the crowd.

 

We were seriously concerned that these two might slip off the truck in their spike heels, but they seemed ok.

 

This lovely young woman looked very elegant sitting on top of a semi truck in her silver dress and gloves.

And so did this little senorita in her princess dress with her friend the robot.

 

 For the kids, there was the Bimbo bread float with bubbles and samples.

  

At this point, everything stopped for about forty minutes.  We watched the sun set and wandered around the streets at bit. 

Everyone was still in a festive mood waiting for the big floats to arrive.  You can see these girls are covered in confetti.  Kids were buying bags of it and tossing it everywhere.

 If you wanted to you could buy yourself a mask, or a balloon or a snack.

 

 

But this little girl seemed happy just to play with the confetti.

As the sun set the second part of the parade came into view with bands on trucks, men on horseback, and a long column of farmers protesting something.  (I need to find out what that was about.  There were probably a several hundred marchers.)

Then the lights came on and the big floats arrvied with their costumed dancers and regal beauty queens. 

 

The floats were lovely but I have to say that for me the best part of the parade was seeing the Mexican people of all ages, from grandfathers to babes in arms, to teenagers, all celebrating together.

Preparing for Carnaval

Mazatlan is poised and ready.  It's been gearing up for weeks for the annual Carnaval Mardi Gras festival--the third biggest after Rio and New Orleans.  People from all over Mexico come here for the six day celebration that includes street parties, fireworks, and parades.  It officially started last night but the real action takes place from Saturday night through until Tuesday afternoon.  Here are some of the preparations we've seen take place:

Every little store and restaurant is decorated with masks and colourful lighted mask designs line the streets downtown.

Hotels along the malecon where the parade goes have doubled their rates. The candidates for carnaval queen, king, and princess have been seen around town in their finery for a few weeks now.  The crowing takes place on Saturday (at the baseball stadium), followed by fireworks along the malecon, recreating an historic naval battle where Mazatlan defeated the French army.

The Olas Altas area is being prepared for a huge ongoing street dance and party.  Gates have been erected and hoardings (decorated by locals in true Mazatlan street art fashion).  Stages are being set up for the music and there are many beer tents as well as several temporary bathrooms in key locations. We've been given conflicting information about this party.  Some say: go early, don't miss it.  Others say: avoid it unless you want to feel like a sardine.  Others say it's dangerous to go down there after dark because of the drinking and the crowds.

Tourists and locals are scrambling to find a place to view the big parade on Sunday.  We have tickets for an afternoon party that includes a chair on a bleacher along the malecon for the parade.  I'm really excited about this as it's reputed to be stunningly beautiful. We'll also be attending another fireworks display on Monday night along the beach, but we think we may leave the Olas Altas street parties to the younger set.