Fiesta de San Andres, Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico

We learned recently that most (if not all) towns in this area have the name of a saint preceding the Indio name. We live, for instance, in San Antonio Tlayacapan, which is called San Antonio. Sometimes the Spanish is nicer to hear, sometimes the Indio word is better. Good example – hummingbird. En Espanol, el colibri, in the indigenous (Nahuatl) tongue, huitzitzlin. In the indigenous language, Nahuatl, version as it is very…onomatopoeaic? Say it out loud.

But this is all about San Andres, the saint attached to Ajijic (ergo San Andres Ajijic, which is called Ajijic). If you were paying attention in Sunday School, you will recall that Andrew was known for being first a fisherman, then a Fisher of Men, so he is a good fit for a town on the shores of a lake. The feast day of Saint Andrew is November 30, and of course there is a novena (9-day fiesta) leading up to that day. And on each of these 9 days the cohetes, pop bottle rockets on steroids, start near dawn, lit in the hand and released to the sky, carrying the prayers of the faithful that much closer to God, with a loud explosion to get His attention!

St Andres church steeple against the hills

Today's fiesta brought to you by professionals, domestic employees, teachers, beauty workers, the businesspeople of the Port of the Lake, hair cutters, and JOE's.

The parade through town included vignettes from the life of the Saint, as well as miracles (like the loaves and fishes), re-enacted on the back of small flatbed trucks, and each float was sponsored by local groups, including Joes Barber Shop. One had San Andres, with nets, catching sinners. 

And the loaves and fishes – with real loaves and real fishes!

There were also Indio dancers, in feather regalia, and cool seed pods (need to figure out what they are) on their legs that make a great rattling sound as they dance.

That's a real dove! yikes!

But the highlight of this celebration are the castillos, one each of the 9 nights, erected in the plaza in front of the church. A castillo is a large structure, maybe 50-ish feet tall (though they can be much bigger), laden with various Catherine wheels (another saintly reference), each holding fireworks galore. The rockets on the edge of the wheel make it spin. Each night one is sponsored by some local group, the teachers, the municipal employees, etc. We chose to go to the one on the last evening, sponsored by the Hijos Ausentes, the “sons” who went to the US to work and send back money to their families. It is the grandest of the displays, since they have the biggest budget for fireworks, and music.

We were not disappointed! Each of the 7-8 spinning contraptions is lit one at a time, each with a theme or design. This one started with the face of Donald Duck (whistling rockets, and a spinning face), then Mickey, then a large chalice with two hands holding it. The grand finale were the words Hijos Ausentes, sparkling and raining sparks everywhere.

In the midst of these towers, several young men climb up inside, to ensure proper operation, (??) and maybe to be sure each wheel gets lit. They were so close to the rain of sparks that we were sure they had on some kind of fireproof clothing. Silly us! When we saw these fellows after the event they were just in jeans and hoodies. We heard somewhere that the daring component with fireworks is proof of their faith. If so, they had a lot more than a mustard seed’s worth! (sorry, haven't figured out how to rotate the video. But you'll get the point.)

Between each “castillo wheel” being lit, there were more fireworks sent skyward, launching from the ground maybe 40 feet from where we stood. The thundering launches were impressive, and kept startling us into jumping a little. Safe to say we have never been that close to fireworks of this magnitude, and more than once felt a sting on exposed skin where the remnants drifted down on us. We patted our hair each time just to be sure!

The main town has most of the streets shut down for booths, rides, games of chance, and music!

Mark suggested they should sell t-shirts for this saint's day that say "It's not my fault!" (A joke for you Californians and geology fans out there,) and like many such suggestions, it got no traction here, alas.

And so ends yet another fascinating cultural snapshot from Mexico -- the fun side of the wall!

(Diciembre 2017) (Sorry for the tardy publishing, I'll blame it on the shoddy internet!)