Carnaval: The Waiting Game

When will we learn?  Perhaps never?  Being prompt is so culturally ingrained in us that if a show or parade starts at 3:00 p.m., that means we really need to be there at 2:30 p.m. to get a good seat.  Well Dorothy, we're not in Kansas (or Arizona) anymore.  I'm sure some of you know where this post is going.

We'd made up our minds that we were on Isla Mujeres during Carnaval and we were NOT going to miss the big parade!  It was scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Sunday.  Rationally, I knew that 3:00 p.m. didn't really mean 3:00 p.m., but why take chances?  In November, we showed up 15 minutes late for the Dia de la Revolucion parade and it was halfway down Medina before we got there!  (That was a one off.)

Around 2 p.m., this clown car with boom box zoomed past on the street below.  A thought went through my mind that the parade could be starting early, so we'd better hurry!

We rushed around and were out the door around 2:30 p.m.   With no empty taxis to be had, we started walking.  About halfway to El Centro, some kind neighbors in a golfcart stopped and offered us a ride.  Soon we were seated on the wall along Medina just north of Mininos. 

We suddenly realized we were totally unprepared for the event.  We had no drinks!  Craig rushed off and soon returned from Bally Hoo with a huge margarita in a Big Gulp sized styrofoam cup and a tiny bottle of water for me.  I quickly decided I liked the margarita and we shared.

Within a half hour, around 3:30, we began seeing indications there might be a parade today.

A vendor passed by with donuts/pastries on his head???  How did I miss this opportunity?

A little later, a man on a unicycle pedaled up and down Medina.  The southbound side of the avenue had been shutdown for over an hour, so surely the parade was still on!

This cutie sashayed up and down the sidewalk, her runway, several times.  If she wasn't the official kinderqueen title holder, she should have been!

Around 4 pm, two trucks passed by on the opposite side of Medina.  Finally!!!  They must be lining up somewhere!  Our expectations rose.

Confusion reigned as dance groups performed in front of Mininos and other spots on Medina, then disappeared with no sign of an organized parade. 

Another small Carnaval Queen, this one more official, passed on the sidewalk.  At this point (around 4:30 pm), I was almost sure we'd missed the event.  Slowly viewers started leaving with the certainty that today's parade was not to be.  Soon the group we'd been sitting with gave up and meandered away.

 

We stayed with two other friends who'd sat down for a chat.  A friend tried to quiz the policia directing traffic at the crosswalk as to whether the parade had been cancelled.  He smiled, but didn't understand our English. 

 

At 5 p.m., it became comical.  People were walking around comparing notes trying to figure out if the parade had been held somewhere else.  Oh well.  We had no place else to be and people watching is always fun!

 

Anyone need an onion with their margarita???

 

 

True to form, the event planners fired another volley!  A truck with two large cartoon policia passed by on the opposite side of Medina.  They had us on what we called the gambler's schedule when I taught behavior modification.  Throw something out there at random moments to keep the participants waiting for their reward!

Excitement once again grew.  Finally, after two hours and ten minutes, the parade appeared!  It's what they call a milagro in Mexico!

The parade was on!  Good things come to those who wait!  Being in Mexico reminds us to persevere and outlast!  LOL 

Stay tuned for the Carnaval parade photos manana.  (Just remember what manana really means!  Wink wink.)