Mardi Gras in Guaymas

The last day of celebration. The parade started at 4 pm at one end of town. We arrived early, so we stopped at a kiosk inside the supermarket and I tried, for the first time, Pepihuates. The young man on the left was really enjoying his cup and I was feeling brave. The name is a combination of pepino (cucumber) and cacahuates (peanuts). A plastic glass is first half-filled with peanuts, then a combination of minced cucumber and jicama. Then come the aderezos (toppings): chili powder, clamato juice, and sweetened minced dried chilies. It was really delicious. Slabs of diez millo (literally it means "ten million" but is the name of a tender cut of beef, thinly sliced) are secured to a rotisserie. The fire is vertical, the skewer is turned by hand to cook it. When cooked, it's sliced off the skewer, chopped and put into tacos. There were many food stands set up along the main street.

Vendors of all type plied their wares. Wheelbarrows make portability easier.

The parade began with a marching band, the only one we'd see.

My favorite very earnest performer:

There were floats and performing groups for the next 2 hours:

Each performing group was preceded by a vehicle which BLASTED music:

Las Vegas theme:

James Brown music and 60s costumes and dances:

French can-can dance troupe:

The streets were packed with some observers going up high to get a good view:

Even the hat seller stopped to watch:

Only one float tossed candy to spectators and it had a gaggle of kids who followed it down the parade route:

This Aztec queen was followed along the route by a masked (intoxicated) man who tried his hardest to be noticed. He never got even the slightest glance.

This guy was on his own, dancing up a storm. He was one of the most entertaining performers:
A diminuative queen and her court:

L-R: Darren from Cool Cat, George from Mollyhock, Dick, Panchis is on the phone, then her family:

Panchis grandchildren, Miguel Ivan and Itsel, enjoyed throwing confetti

and then walking their rats arounds. Purchased from a passing vendor, pull the string and the rat starts moving.

The guys wanted to have Chinese food for dinner. This is a fabric store, but note that half of the storefront is covered by advertising for Chinese food:

To get to the restaurant, you go into the fabric store:

down the main aisle, past the notions department, through the door on the right and up the stairs:

The vendor most apparent was Tecate beer stands (which I didn't take any pictures of) and nearby was this popular follow-up business. 3 pesos to use the bathroom:

This kid was a real sharpshooter, he never missed, and won a prize.

There was a shell game going on in the middle of the street, people were crowded around. The woman in the purple shirt was quite angry and vocal that she'd actually won but didn't get her winnings. She was making quite a scene.

Finally another customer made a deal, if he won she would also get her winnings. He won. And then I got in trouble for taking this picture. Lo siento (I'm sorry) and we got out of there.