NEW YEARS EVE (LA NOCHE DE AÑO NUEVO)

It has been over 15 years since I did any kind of celebration for New Years Eve.  Many years ago when I was young (Well, in my 40's)  I gave huge New Years Parties.  I lived in a house built in the 30's by a famous Laguna architect.  It looked kind of like a French farm house nestled in a half acre of avocado trees.  I  spent two years restoring it and it was quite beautiful.  The house was not large, but it had a guest house on the upper patio.  I added a large lower brick patio where I installed gas heaters.  The living room had a two story rafter ed ceiling where a twelve candle bronze candelabra hung.  I put balloons in a net up in the rafters and with the pull of a cord, they would cascade down at midnight (hopefully avoiding the candles).

Years later Serge and I would give formal dinner parties.  We served five or six courses ending just before midnight with champagne served in fluted Baccarat.  But those days are long gone, along with Serge and the Baccarat.  My life is much, much simpler now.  I am in bed (reading) by 11:00 and sound asleep my midnight.  This year Jennifer asked if I would go with her down to Olas Altos on New Years.  I hesitated a moment and then said, "Sure". As a near octogenarian, how many New Years Eve could I expect.  You cannot sleep here anyway.  The fireworks start sometime after midnight (nothing happens on time here) and go on for 20 to 30 minutes.  My church rings bells and shoots off the canon.  Cars honk, kids set off firecrackers,  people yell and scream, so you might as well stay up.  Mexico is a very noisy place.

I told Jennifer that I would cook something for dinner.  Jennifer you may have guessed was my "unexpected house guest".  Every restaurant in town offers New Years Eve dinners ranging from $50.00 to $100.00.  In Mexido ??  Really ??.  Way above my budget.  I served a simple dinner of my famous "margarita" chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.  I changed the original recipe by using Cointreau and Tequila.  No champagne, no caviar, but we had a nice dinner.  After a little clean up we started off to Olas Altos.  First we stopped at our favorite bar Fridas.  At one end of the bar was a token drag queen.  I expected we would encounter more before the evening was over.

Olas Altos during "the season" is a four block party of bars and restaurants spread out across the wide sidewalk.  For New Years, the street is closed to traffic.  Huge speakers, a disc jockey, and large TV screens were installed.  It was packed as well as my second favorite bar "Apaches".  With the crowd mingling and moving around, it wasn't long before we got a table outside.  The noise was deafening, but Hell, it was New Years.  Just before midnight, we paid our bill and hurried around the corner to the pier to see the fireworks.  Sorry my camera does not capture fireworks well.  The largest fireworks display occurs across the river at the main square in front of the cathedral. They were still going when I reached home and my deck, so I could get off one more shot of the fireworks beside my own church bell tower.  The firecrackers (or were they gun shots) went on for another half an hour before things quieted done enough for me to sleep.

The next morning occurred very slowly.  I am glad I did it, but I think next year, I will stay home and watch the fireworks from my deck.  I have a better view of them than those at the pier.   Fireworks no longer hold the fascination they once did (especially since we have them every night here).  And dancing in the streets is also over for me.

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