Carnival in La Paz

Monday Feb 20

I got up before dawn, took a walk taking photos along the beach, then drove to La Paz.  It took about 3 hours from Insurgentes.   I stopped en route to have a taco (not very good at a roadside shack in the desert) and to take photos of cactus personalities.

When I arrived, I was very tired, feeling almost sick.  I napped before going to the parade.   Afterward, I showered, and felt much better.

Tuesday-Thursday, Feb. 21-23

Without a phone, I found it almost impossible to connect with the three people I had found on Couch Surfers.  The internet wasn’t always working, and they might not respond for several days.  I didn’t want to hang around La Paz waiting for something that might or might not develop, so I gave up on contacts.

Carnival in La Paz

Everyone knows I come to Baja to see the marine life.

The Carnival was more interesting than I expected.  On the floats, there were far too many little girls dressed up as babes, looking either completely bored with the routine, or stressed out.  On the whole, the floats weren’t especially creative or impressive.   There were a number on Prehispanic themes--perhaps Native Mexican.

 There were the obligate pirates, and one for the water utility. 
A lot with scantily clad women or former Miss Bajas, with the theme of the float little more than a platform for the women.  Performers on the floats tossed trinkets, and people tossed things back on occasion—although helpers walking with the floats had signs asking people not to throw anything.

There was a lot of humor.  For example, you haven’t seen anything till you see Mexicans dressed up as Vikings, on an imitation Viking dragon ship.

Several floats depicted whales.  One of my favorite floats was a whale, with the lower half of the animal made from a panga (boat).  The upper half was covered with iridescent video disks.  Quite a few of the floats made good use of recycled materials—like painted plastic bottles-- to provide texture or covering.

When sea life was depicted on a float, there was a much higher degree of accuracy than you would expect on an American float—because the people here have more contact with the sea.  For example, the weird eyes of octopi were shown, and they didn’t have smiling mouths painted below cartoonish eyes.  (That’s because the octopus mouth isn’t normally visible, since it’s positioned on the bottom underneath all the arms.)

I was pleased to see a float in opposition to an open pit gold mine, proposed to go within the Biosphere Reserve of the Sierra de la Laguna mountains.  There were quite a few people carrying signs or dancing along with the float, which was little more than a truck decorated with slogans. 

"The thirst for gold will leave us without water."

This environmental presence was significant, when you compare this to parades at home.  How many Rose Bowl parades, or Fourth of July parades, have environmental floats in the USA?

Without looking for gourmet restaurants, or anything mentioned in the guide book, I found several inexpensive taco joints—one received a good wi-fi signal from the nearby coffee shop.  They make great omelets here for breakfast, served if you like with melon on the side.

I went shopping at a large supermarket.  The avocados in Mexico are great.  They are more firm when ripe, and don’t have the frequent brown bruises you find in ones in our stores.  And the best part is, when you open them up, they are pure guacamole.  The spices and lime flavor are already there—perhaps bred into the fruit!

I like La Paz because it’s a real Mexican City with a beautiful setting, not some kind of tourist fantasy divided between servants and the served.  The Americans you do see here are less stereotyped—and many of the tourists are from Europe.    You also see all the varied aspects of civil society—statues, murals, museums, theatre, various government agencies such as the one for human rights, and the university.  The best marine biology lab in Latin America is located here.  It’s fun to watch the Mexicans out enjoying themselves on the seaside walkway called the Malecon.

 Man and nature seem more in balance here.  While some areas are very disturbed or littered,  other areas are near-pristine.  Man hasn’t completely subdued nature.  People probably know where their food and water come from.