This weekend is likely the most festive of the year on this island. First, there is the 5th annual Caribbean Maya Festival which is a huge cultural get-together. Dancers, musicians, singers, and all types of artists are on display for 3 days. And they paid their own way from Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Peru, and elsewhere in Mexico, to come to this out-of-the-way place (pop. 12,000). One way to tell they are new here is that one of the groups came over on a highway tour bus --- never seen on this island because the roads are too narrow and the wires too low!
The second Big Event is the local celebration of International Children's Day, Nov. 20. Kids are a beloved part of Mexican culture and we'll be going to their parade this afternoon.
And the Really Big Event is today, the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence AND the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. Cries of Viva la Revolution! ring out on the streets. More heartfelt than singing O! Canada? More sincere than God Bless America? More on that later; here are some impressions of the weekend kick-off event, held in the town square (zocalo) on a balmy breezy evening.
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