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.
