San Felipe Carnival Parade - 2014

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San Felipe, Baja, Mexico

 

San Felipe Carnival

This year the Carnival's dates overlapped the Baja 250, which would appear to do more harm than good. Hotels, beer agents and restaurants have only one pool of patrons in which to fish, instead of spreading their nets over two or more separate dates.

Again, as in recent years, a tight budget unlavished the floats and a rather sparse turnout threw the whole event into sharp contrast with memories of past extravaganzas, or as that era might be called, the Golden Age of San Felipe Parades. That was a time when full-sized whales on flatbeds swam down the Malecon, two storey robots ducked under power lines, giant pyramids rolled past the seawall, a full scale helicopter slowly spun the air above the hot sidwalks, and every manner of astonishing fabrication trailed each other in a ceaseless line of pomp and ornament.

All these years later, after a bruised economy replaced creativity and craftsmanship with balloons and feathers, we sip our coffee, wave at the dancing troups and patiently invite better times. But wait, heere comes an echo of a Golden Age float slowly rolling into view, flourishing an adept scaled-down replica of Las Vegas' Riviera Hotel along with a reproduction of the iconic 1959 "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign, amusingly substituing 'San Felipe' for the gambling Mecca's name. In the past, a similar rolling spectacle might have been the handiwork of Rice and Beans or Rockadile. Today, the float lists the sponsorship of no less than a dozen local businesses.

I suppose with local material costs perpetually panting and climbing, like mercury on a hot day, there's little reason to indulge one's artistic ambitions within the venue of mobile allegorical displays. Perhaps one day San Felipe's purse strings, or more accurately Mexicali's coffers, will allow for a good old fashion, immoderate, no-holds-barred parade float banquet. If it does, it'll be the first time in years I'll need a spare battery for my camera.

 

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