Thanksgiving, Santa Cecilia and Revolution Day

Revolution Day is a holiday in Mexico. On November 20th, every village, town and city has a parade in honor of the revolutionaries. We went to the Bucerias parade. First we went to the square because we thought the parade would be there. We found a crowd gathering and many vendors setting up shop. We also saw school groups preparing for the parade. We wandered up to the highway and saw the parade. I think every school child in Bucerias was in the parade. There were lots of little Pancho Villas and other revolutionaries. There were school bands, gymnastic groups, horses and of course a parade princess. Each group was accompanied by moms and dads, teachers, and coaches.
The parade route was lined with many people. Back in the square, food vendors were busy preparing tostados, tacos, tamales and other yummy snacks. We had to go work on the food distribution so we left before the parade was over.
Later on, we returned to the square for a dance contest. We arrived early so we wandered around the square. After the loteria was over, the dance contest was on. It was a local version of a TV show similar to Dancing With The Stars. A singer named Felix Chaivez performed as well. He was sort of like the Mexican version of Wayne Newton.

The Dia de Santa Cecilia is the day devoted to the patron saint of musicians. Harold and I went to the square in Puerto Vallarta for the special mariachi mass that was held outdoors. We met Patricia, Joann and their friends Cecilia and Gabi. In the plaza there was a norteno band entertaining the crowd. After the mass, we walked along the Malecon listening to about four different mariachi bands. People often honor their friends on their “saint day.” We all took Cecilia to Mezza Luna for dinner after the music. Harold and I had never been there before. It is a very nice Italian restaurant a few blocks up from the Malecon.

Joann and Patricia had a Thanksgiving get together at Casa Tranquila. They cooked the turkey, dressing and potatoes. We brought a corn casserole and rolls. Others brought pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes and appetizers. It was lots of fun. Some guest who just arrived at Casa T joined us all for dinner. We didn’t watch football on TV, and there were no newspapers full of Friday bargains, but otherwise it was a typical Thanksgiving.