A couple of weeks ago an acquaintance sent an email asking: “Do you have the dates in November when Ajijic does its big celebration, including ten nights of rockets? I’ve never been here for that and I’d like to have a heads up of the dates.”

Since she’s a newcomer to these parts, I replied with an abbreviated description of what goes on during the annual Fiestas de San Andrés, figuring it would enhance her appreciation for local customs. Silly me. She really only wanted to know the dates so she could time an out-of-town trip in order to avoid the noisy fireworks.  

I know that lots of fellow expats do exactly the same thing because they abhor the endless barrage of cohetes (sky rockets) that are part and parcel of nearly all local festivities, sacred and profane alike.

A former high school classmate who settled here about seven years ago has just packed up and moved back to the States. It turns out that the continual onslaught of traditional boom-booms was one of the main factors driving her out of our quirky paradise.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if they regulated the hours … not before 6 a.m., not after ten at night,” she remarked as we said our farewells. Yeah, I’ve heard that line before.
Foreigners are not alone in their aversion to rockets.  Many of our Mexican neighbors also despise the explosive racket.

“They fired off about 300 cohetes at dawn on the last day of the fiestas,” a Chapala pal groused this week. “It‘s irritating and a huge waste of money! But it’s tradition,” he remarked with a shrug of resignation.

In ancient times the indigenous tribes conjured the gods with drumbeats, stone instruments and loud whoops and hollers.  Once gunpowder was introduced, it became a component of Christian festivities. It is still used as something of a time-keeper, an effective method for calling the faithful to early morning prayers, religious processions and church services.

Life is Mexico has gradually become more regulated in recent times. Tax collectors and immigration authorities have grown strict. Traffic cops crack down on seat belt, speeding and drunk driving laws. City authorities are increasingly inclined to enforce building codes.  But, let’s get real. Making folks adhere to a “civilized” schedule for blasting off cohetes is not going to happen in our lifetime, if ever.

You can bet that the same pretty much holds true for squelching other noise nuisances, whether it emanates from musical sound equipment, itinerant p.a. systems, clanging church bells, barking dogs, crowing cocks or braying burros.

Mexico is a noisy country, plain and simple. Its people thrive on lively chatter and high decibel music. That’s part the country’s inherent vibrancy.

If you can think of cohetes in those terms, accept them as an aspect of the auditory and cultural landscape, you might be able to just tune them out.  Otherwise, you’re better off investing in earplugs and leaving town at fiesta time.  And if the noisy atmosphere as a whole gets on your nerves, you’ve come to the wrong place!