Carnavale comes to Playa

Carnaval Time - all the fun of the fair!

Playa del Carmen’s Carnaval is on at the moment. On the last 2 evenings there has been salsa music playing at very high decibels till the early hours of the morning, and although the stage is near the council chambers on 25^th and 8^th near Walmart, it sounds like it’s right next door, I think maybe there is a repeater speaker up here. So I thought I’d head out tonight to check out what’s happening. It’s Saturday night and there are sure to be lots of people about. Well it turned out to be all quite an event. There were sideshows ranging from the 2-headed child to the cat woman, snakes and wild animals, those clowns with the smiling open mouths and several other games, all with the obligatory large fluffy stuffed animals as prizes. There was even a fortue teller - 25 pesos a question

On the large stage erected in front of the council carpark, there were dance troupes in revealing costumes and feathered headdresses doing the samba, and a latin band belting out the rhythms. Many couples in the area in front were also dancing, and those just looking were swaying to the music.

There were stalls selling quilts and blankets (I don’t think you’d ever need them here), saucepans and plastic ware, shoes, clothes and miscellaneous small items. I bought myself 3 tops for 100 pesos, and 5 fridge magnets for 20.

There was food of every description from hotdogs and chips to nutella crepes, and plenty of beer, but no one appeared to be drunk.

Maybe the fact that there were also lots of policemen around helped keep the crowd under control, and crime to a minimum. It’s one thing I have noticed in Playa, the police presence is everywhere in the evenings so anyone behaving badly is quickly discouraged, and I always feel very safe walking around, even very late at night. Not that I’ve been out very late yet, but it’s time to start getting out and about.

My friend from yoga tells me there are salsa lessons at the Cuban restaurant on 5^th Ave on Wednesday nights, followed by dancing into the wee hours. Sounds like my sort of scene.

I also noticed a poster for Tango lessons at an Argentine restaurant. Having spent several weeks at a Tango school in Buenos Aires, I’d love to improve on what I learnt which wasn’t much more than basic moves. Tango so much depends on having a good partner who knows how to lead, assuming of course that I know enough steps to understand his directions. But I love Tango music and watching good tango dancers, so it may be worth it even for entertainment value, and will certainly get me out and meeting new people.