"Carnaval" in Tlaxcala

Tlaxcala celebrates its own “Carnaval”, the Mexican version of “Mardi Gras”.  Each area of Mexico has its own traditions for this festival, and Tlaxcala has a unique set of costumes, dances, and traditions.

The Tlaxcala “Charros” dance on

the street- wearing very expensive costumes of ostrich-feather hats, hand-sewn sequin capes, identical carved masks, and colorful whips.  Their traditional dance actually involves whipping each other on the legs!  The whips make a tremendous sound, are definitely painful, and are even

dangerous for the surrounding crowd who might get too close!  The idea seems very strange to me as a foreigner, but is a beloved tradition here.  Even children dress as “charros”!  Besides the charros, others dress as animals, cowboys, or sequined-dancers for a large parade in the

streets, while local musicians provide music on the side. 

 The event last 4 days! All the streets fill with dancers, venders, and on-lookers.  Unfortunately, all the streets and highways also close, making travel around the town almost impossible these dates. 

 Though I enjoyed witnessing Tlaxcala culture, the event is saddening to see

crowds of people living for the flesh- spending days drinking/drunk in the streets, fights, expensive purchasing, etc. all under the farce of a “religious” holiday before starting Lent.