Mardi Gras is a Catholic celebration although I do not know what the Vatican's official stance is on all the revelry. In Vallarta it is mostly a gay event, almost like Gay Pride week. It is certainly not Rio or New Oleans, but it is a very fun celebration. The parade is of made up of floats of balloons on trucks, or crepe paper on cars consists mainly of half nude men and drag queens. I can only imagine what the Vatican would think, if they saw Puerto Vallarta on Mardi Gras. Our previous mayor also had a dim view of the festivities and decided he wanted it to be a "family friendly" event. "Family friendly Mardi Gras ? Really !! He discouraged the gay participation and moved the parade strictly to the Malecon. It was a disaster! This was the same corrupt mayor who completely emptied the city treasury before leaving office. Our current mayor took office with no money to pay anything. The trash collector threatened to stop picking up the garbage on the street, so the mayor fired 75% of the police department in order to have money for the trash collection. A smart move in my opinion. The police are so corrupt, they do little to enforce the law anyway. You may think this is an awful situation, but personally I like living in a country where you can buy your way out of almost any problem.
The parade route for Mardi Gras has never been closed to all other traffic and this year with almost no police, it was even more hectic. People just trying to get home or to dinner get caught up in the parade. For the most part they are good natured about it, and roll down their windows and wave to the crowd. It starts at the Sheraton Hotel downtown winding it was across the river and ends on Olas Altos. This year they said Thirty Thousands spectators lined the streets and sidewalks for the couple miles of the parade route. It lasts for about 30 to 45 minutes.
Jennifer was to finish the make up for one of the bartenders who was on the Frida float (really just an open jeep with balloons). I took a picture of it from the balcony before it left. I met her upstairs at Fridas There isn't a downstairs anymore. The night before the ceiling collapsed. The bar has been in decline for years. I only go there to see my friend Filipe. It happened at one in the morning, so there weren't that many people in the bar. Most were seated at tables (probably no longer able to stand). One poor sole was at the bar when the fan fell on the bar. He interned on crutches and left in an ambulance. I was told it was his first night in Vallarta and while certainly memorable, I doubt he will return. No one else was hurt that badly, just some cuts and bruises from the falling plaster. When Filipe saw the fan fall on the bar he went out from behind the bar to shut off the electricity just when the ceiling came down. Always a little excitement here. Two days later The City closed it down and condemned the whole building until repairs were made. My poor friend Filipe is now out of a job,
We then went down to a new bar that opened on a corner with a good view of the parade route. There must have been over 100 people packed into a bar smaller than my living room. Most spilled out onto the side walk. There are no laws against drinking anywhere, but you could not take glass outside the bar. I still have trouble with night photos, but managed to get in between some people to get a few shots. Each year it gets bigger and better and attracts more and more people. Once it was over I left Jennifer there and headed home. By this time she was dancing in the street and she later told me that from there, they went up to La Noche's roof top garden and then back to Fridas. I would have passed out by then. From my recent blogs you must think that we have a party every week. Sadly sometimes it seems so to me too.
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