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For over 100 years now, the Mazatlan
Carnival in Mexico is celebrated every
year in a very grand manner. A week-long
festival that takes place just before
Lent (a custom of the Roman Catholics
finding its origins in the pre-Christian
festivity rites), the Mazatlan Carnival
is visited by many people from around
the world.
Every year the Mazatlan Carnival
brings with it a bunch of exciting
events. The festival consists of mainly
three major pageants namely, the crowning
of the Carnaval Queen, the First Runner
Up and a Child Queen. Each of these
events is accompanied by a ceremony
involving live performances by artists.
Moreover, the spectators can also
witness two spectacular two-hour parades,
dance the whole night to the tunes
of the live music played by the Mexican
bands at the street parties in Olas
Atlas, have some piquant and sumptuous
dishes at the two open-air food festivals
(one at Golden Zone and the other
at Old Mazatlan), attend stalls on
the fair grounds and see the spectacular
ship-to-shore naval battle fought
with fireworks.
People from all over the world arrive
at Mazatlan Carnival of Mardi Gras.
Regarded as the third largest carnival
in the whole world after those in
New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro, Mazatlan
Carnival is the most attended annual
festival in this Pacific resort city.
First celebrated in the year 1897,
Mazatlan Carnaval continues to attract
tourists in great numbers even now
and is one of the grandest Mexican
festivals.
Apart from the parades and special
shows, at Mazatlan Carnival the "Carnavaldome"
on Avenida del Mar on Playa Norte
on the northern fringes of the town
is a major attraction. But the main
events set rolling on Friday evening
with the juegos florales or floral
games inside the city baseball stadium.
At this event, a lady is crowned the
Flower Queen and prizes are distributed
for the category of "best flowery
verse". The first prize includes the
prestigious Clemencia Isaura Poetry
Award, which is a 68-year old tradition
running at this festival. This prize
is for the best unpublished work of
poetry in Mexico.
So, if you are visiting Mexico anytime
soon then make it a point to attend
the Mazatlan Carnival and catch the
adventure and excitement.
For more information on the other
festivals celebrated around the world,
log on to .
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