mexican day parade: que colores

(i seem to stumble into a lot of parades...at some point i should consider getting a calendar, so that every sunday during parade season i know what i'm in for?)

anyway, yesterday's hosts: mexicans.

i shot some photos last year, and wasn't sure if there was a need to take more this time. (if you've shot the crazy, color-mob scene once, do you need to document it again?)

but even though the energy level was the same (high, loud) the participants that i mingled with this time wore costumes that evoked different aspects of mexican culture that i'd been unaware of (i had to do a little research afterwards to make sense of some of what i saw). there were a few charros (cowboys, rodeo showmen) including riders from the federation of black cowboys , lucha libre costumes, chinelo dancers (their faces hidden by the traditional masks--and there were so many different kinds, reflecting the evolution of the dance from pre-hispanic times through the 19th century--with even the youngest dancers bearing the weight of headdresses and black suiting and beaded capes) and a posse of payasos (clowns--i had no idea that it's long been a common form of street entertainment in mexico. not sure how i'd feel about clowns coming up to me in the street or in my car offering "a laugh for a peso," but they were pretty fun to hang around with for a little while in the afternoon).

fotos:

(almost) everyone loves a parade

i don't love a parade. the noise, the over-crowding, the potential for mayhem... i think it's nice that people can muster such verve for them. i just want to be left out of it.

but my neighborhood, on sundays in the summertime, lies directly in the path of a number of national pride parades--which means several midtown streets that intersect madison and fifth avenues are closed, even to pedestrian traffic. it's annoying to be forced 6 blocks and 2 avenues out of your way when you're really only block away from home. you learn to avoid that part of town all together.

on some occasions, like yesterday, my block serves as the staging area. luckily, i live in a rear-facing apartment--shut the windows, shut out the street noise.

but once you leave the building, you get a load of this:

i sort of love this guy, hangin out on the float in his ecko tee. i think his party started the night before.

see the corn cob sideburns?

normally, this kind of scene makes me want to run-lola-run. but something about the mexican day parade--the energy of the music and dance and the people, the wild costumes--kept me around for a while. i even started to like it a little...

the kids were my favorite subjects--they were utterly bewildered. what's going on? am i having fun? do i have to dance?

with a little encouragement, they followed along.

eventually they smiled, even for me.

actually, i received a lot of smiles that day, mostly shy, all warm.

hope you like the photos.

***

even the pineapples were dolled up

and: even tough guys like self-portraits

there was definitely a strong trend toward mixing the jerseys with the traditional costumes. though, these guys were straight up dodgers and cowboys.

i waited for this smile. worth it.

love her face

it really does get to be a bit much...this might be my favorite shot.

all photos © anita aguilar