Page 56 - Off the Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 1 of 2)

52 4 MORE CARNIVALS TO RIVAL RIO

FESTIVALS AND PARTIES

Reveler throwing confetti at Mazatlán Carnival, Mexico
Mazatlán

Carnival

NEED TO KNOW
LOCATION Mazatlán is in
the state of Sinaloa, Mexico,
and lies 740 miles (1,190 km) 6 4 " A line of dancers wearing extraordinary tasseled costumes during
south of the US border Ati-Atihan, the Philippines
WHEN Mazatlán Carnival .POUFSSFZ
is held in mid- to late (VMG PG
.";"5-«/ .FYJDP Ati-Atihan
February every year .&9*$0 islanders, the Ati people, who gave them some
ORIGINS First held (VBEBMBKBSB land on which to live. Every year since then, the
in 1897 when the port .FYJDP $JUZ settlers have celebrated this act of generosity
opened to big ships NEED TO KNOW
POPULATION Mazatlán: 350,000 1BDJmD 0 DFBO with an enormous feast, and by painting their
LOCATION The feast is held in 4PVUI faces black to look like the Ati people. The very
Kalibo town on Panay Island, the $IJOB
4FB
Visayas island group, the Philippines .BOJMB name “Ati-Atihan” means “to be like an Ati.” Many
Mazatlán’s exuberant carnival celebrations, which WHEN Ati-Atihan takes 1)*-*11*/&4 1BDJmD indigenous Ati people still live on the island and
0DFBO
run for five days before Ash Wednesday, draw place in mid-January ,"-*#0 join in the festivities every year.
up to 400,000 participants every year. The ORIGINS First held in $FCV Although Ati-Atihan takes place over two
the 13th century as an
festivities take place on a 6-mile (10-km) stretch indigenous festival and later 4VMV %BWBP weeks in January, it isn’t until the last few days of
4FB
of the city’s long ocean-side street, the Malecón. influenced by the Spanish the second week that the real party gets going.
Seafood and cold beer fuel the party, where POPULATION ."-":4*" $FMFCFT Before then, the focus is on religious processions,
4FB
Kalibo: 62,000
infectious rhythms from roving mariachi bands art fairs, and theater performances, although
and pachanga (a type of Latin American music) significant ritual and ceremony is also evident
ensembles mingle in the confetti-filled air. Ati-Atihan, with its vibrant costumes and parades, during the three final days of mayhem. On the
Mazatlán Carnival is less hectic than many other is like carnival elsewhere in the world, only it’s much first of these days, locals worship Santo Niño in
celebrations around the world, and is particularly wilder. Here, the frenzied masses take to the streets the cathedral in a formal and spiritual build-up to
popular with families. There are several idyllic in such an unruly free-for-all that the world’s best- the partying, which is accompanied by deafening
beaches nearby, which offer party-goers a known carnival celebrations seem quiet by tribal drumming. Parades of Catholic and
welcome break from the city’s bustling streets. comparison. The two-week-long shindig has non- indigenous pagan iconography and dancers in
Christian roots, but these days it is held in honor stunning tribal costumes fill the streets, where
of the Christ Child, Santo Niño, who was introduced percussion from road-side bands forms an
Practical Information
to the islanders by the Spanish in the 19th century. endless, mesmeric soundtrack to events. It’s
Getting There and Around International flights go from Miami and Los
Angeles to Mazatlán, and there are regional flights from Mexico City. Ati-Atihan’s distinguishing feature is that the impossible not to want to join the dance.
Taxis are the best way to get around the city, which is spread out along revelers all paint their faces black. The story goes At dawn the next day, a rosary procession
15 miles (24 km) of coastline. that in the 13th century, a band of roaming Malay and Mass are held before the cavorting on the
Daytime Temperature 77°F (25°C) during carnival. tribesmen came to the island of Panay to escape streets gets under way again. And on the final
Website www.mazatlan.com.mx/cultural/carnaval.htm from trouble in Borneo. Here they met the day, the party reaches fever pitch when different

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