Carnaval

still on catch-up mode...

On Saturday a big group of us went to the Carnaval celebration in Tepoztlan, which is close to Cuernavaca. Apparantly it has the best Carnaval around. so we went, and there was a lot of music, dancing, little shops, etc. All of the streets had streamers above them, and it made the whole town really colorful. Here's a picture, and those white people? yep, those are some people from our program:

As someone explained to me, Carnaval is a Catholic holiday-turned-party. Tuesday (or yesterday) is the day that Jesus was first introduced at the temple, and thus his first entrance into the public. So many people were carrying little baby dolls, representing that Jesus is now seen by all people. People also dress up in these costumes.. and i can't remeber for the life of me what they are called.. but they parade and dance in them. here's a picture:

The costumes are ment to mock the Spanish, as you can see from the pointy beards. They dance stiffly and awkwardly, like the Spanish moved in armor. The Conquest has so much to do with EVERYTHING here. Mexico is a really good example of how history impacts our daily lives.