Una Fiesta

We were awoken at about 6 this morning by people shooting firearms and setting off fireworks. Today is El Dia de Los 33 Credos, one of a zillion holidays in the Catholic calendar here, in which Catholics are supposed to either pray about 33 beliefs, or else pray 33 times (I didn't quite get that part straight). Anyway, apparently it also means a fiesta with lots of dancing and tons of noise. And, because this is Mexico, it means that people get dressed up in Indian costumes and dance like the Aztecs presumably did. This is what it looked like:





It's fairly typical in Mexico that a Catholic religious fesival is also a celebration of indigenous culture. And so you find, in the midst of the feathers and animal heads, all the traditional Christian symbols:



There were 6 or 7 different groups of dancers in various parts of the plaza, each I think associated with a different church. All kinds of people were dressed up and dancing -- young, old, fat, thin, male, female, and several woman carrying their babies:


A few more images:








Here's a close-up of a costume:


And of a couple of dancers:




This group all wore those green pants and carried Mexican flags. And yes, that really is a Starbucks:


Here's a few more images of dancers: