A day at the market with friends

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  Oaxaca, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico
Sunday, January 16, 2011

Sunday was the big day at the market in Tlacolula and we went with our friends from Spanish school; Kevin and Susie, and Salina. It was quite a big market with lots of vendors and lots of people though I was not particularly impressed with the quality of the crafts.  There were a lot of women dressed in traditional Indian costumes  and each was related to the village where they live.
   It seemed like a long day and we planned to retire early after a quick dinner; but we met David at an Italian restaurant and as we talked we really did not want to leave.   As it turned out, there was a parade and fireworks display scheduled for later that evening to celebrate the Black Jesus.  We had a wonderful time and watched the display until after midnight. It was like no fireworks display in the US and it is safe to say that there never will be one like it in the US.....no rules down here.  It began with a man holding a paper mache cow over his head and igniting a spinning wheel of sparks and then racing along the edge of the crowd showering them with sparks and debris and causing the less brave ones to retreat....at which point....he just came even closer the next time.  This was repeated several times and later included giant dancing dolls manipulated by boys inside them.  After this they began to ignite pieces of an enormous scaffolded contraption with spinning wheels of fireworks on it.  Finally they ignited the top of it and the figure of a crucified Christ was illuminated in fire with a spinning wheel over his head...As that died down, a single spinning rocket sprang from above his head and vanished into the night sky.  What a big day!!!!

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