The Guadalajara Reporter

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays

As much as I’d like to ignore the whole thing, the fact is the holidays are upon us. No. I don’t mean good ol’ Thanksgiving and Christmas (though sooner or later they have to be dealt with, too) but those favorites of all who live in this village: Revolution Day followed by nine days of homage to the town patron saint, San Andres.

Those who haven’t dwelt in Mexico for long might think that a day with the word “Revolution” in it would be noisy. Actually, it’s mostly a parade of school kids in their gym suits doing acrobatic tricks on cobblestone streets (ouch!). The real racket comes with the nine days leading up to the Saint’s special day on November 30. Like all religious observances in this part of Mexico, those days come with the inevitable carnival blocking the main streets and endless rounds of bottle (and bigger) rockets. It’s time to get tranquilizers and ear muffs for your cats and dogs and a gallon of hooch for yourself to numb the racket. Don’t worry, exhaustion will eventually prevail and you’ll learn to sleep through it all.