Monday, March 05, 2012

Merida - The Regional

If I counted correctly, Merida celebrates Carnaval with a total of six different parades. Without a doubt, my favorite is the Regional Parade.

People from villages and towns all over the Yucatan state come to parade and show off their hometown pride. It is a joyous event, guaranteed to make you smile like a child with delight.

The national dress of the Yucatan is the huipil. It can be plain, it can be fancy, but it must always be adorned with flowers top and bottom. For the fancier occasions, flowers are also placed in the hair. Lots of flowers.






And a colorful ribbon or two.





But not everybody is dressed in a regional costume. The Mayan culture is well represented in this parade also.







Not all warriors are necessarily what one would describe as "fierce". Unless you are using the gay vernacular.






I loved this little boy. I had a close up of him, looking me square in the eye. But, alas, too blurry to post.








Every village brings with it what they consider to be representative of their town. Baskets of fruits or vegetables, henekin, ears of corn. Some of them are quite creative.


I'm not sure about these bits of cloth hanging from the poles. They are constantly being twirled but I have no idea if they are a regional thing or what, if anything, they represent. Other than be pretty to look at.





Maypole dancing is a popular item. Judging from the number of people participating in it during the parade, it almost seems like a national past time of every village.






Without a doubt, my favorite parade group. Displaying what their town is famous for.






Didn't quite understand it? They are paper mache turkeys being carried by their feet. Hilarious.


Tomorrow we'll see the end of the parade and then move on to Progreso later in the week.

3 comments:

KfromMichigan said...

Someday I would love to attend the Merida parade with you! I would be a hoot!

Steve Cotton said...

I am interested to hear your take on Proegreso -- after our stay there.

Barb said...

I couldn't figure out what they were carrying. The hats seemed so prominent that I thought this is what they're famous for.