EL DIA DE LOS MARINEROS - MARINER'S DAY

The school color guard on La Guera, captained by Neto, whose dad died at sea.

Las Palabras:  Con mucho gusto - with great pleasure; Ensenada - cove or inlet; Vacas - cows; Brecha - gap or rough cut road; Los Vaqueros - the cowboys; Gringos Permanentes - permanent international residents; Club de Yate - the Yacht Club

This morning everything was so quiet, so still that I thought the electricity had gone off - a fairly common occurence in Yelapa.  Only the birds were up and singing, loudly announcing their plans every minute of the day.  The power was just fine and the only thing missing were the people of the pueblo - Yelapa was sleeping following the biggest one day fiesta of the year. 

This year there were more pangas in the bay than I can ever recall.  The tradition of the holiday is to honor the mariners - the fishermen - and being a traditional fishing village Yelapa celebrated con mucho gusto, beginning with the laying of wreathes upon the bay.  The pangas are all loaded with children and families who boat out into the bay and a list of those who have died through the years is read and prayers are said for their souls while the wreathes are spread.

After the solemn acknowledgment of the dangers facing those who go to sea the fleet of pangas all begin the return to shore.  But then something else begins to happen.  Boats begin to pick up speed and soon it is a race between all the boats.  There is a huge release of sorrow, a letting off of steam and a return to the natural gaiety of Yelapenses. 

Water and eggs become weapons of attacking other pangas and people - even pets are not exempt from a tossed bucket of water.  Everyone has contributed something to the event including the indigenous comunidad government.  Free beer begins to flow, food begins to cook, there are treats for sale and the band strikes up the music.  These days most of the goodies are located on the playita with the band set up on the deck of Club de Yate.  Spontaneous boat races begin and the water in our little ensenada de Yelapa is soon churning from sharp turns, kids shriek and once again we marvel at the skill our capitanos have with these fairly small boats.  Everyone eats and drinks, probably to excess.

The rodeo is held upriver and also remains a tradition among Yelapenses whose economy includes cattle ranching and farming. When you walk upriver everything changes from the sea, boat, fish life to the rural, farming life of El Paso, which is an undefined but heavily inhabited area on the river, that begins just beyond the village area.  Vacas are driven down the brecha by Vaqueros who ride from the Chacala pueblo, and at some point in the day, everyone goes home, dons their cowboy hats, buckles and boots and treks up to the corral for ridin' ropin' and revelry.  One year the cattle did not want to come out of their holding stalls, let alone be roped or ridden.  Our resident U.S. Veterinarian at the time was on hand to make sure the cattle were not being abused but since they spent most of their time lying down, we all thought there was little risk of anything going amiss unless one of the cows woke up angry.  It was mostly a hilarious afternoon of trying to get them up and out into the corral but no one seemed to mind.  The vaqueros are mostly known for fancing horse riding and fancy clothes and there are always some good looking high steppers - horses, that is.

Yes, there was dancing...isn't there always?  What can I tell you - I didn't last that long.  I can say I agree with my pal, Susan, who said this is her favorite Yelapa fiesta because the business of tourism is mostly over, it's truly a day for Yelapenses to enjoy themselves and those gringos permanantes still here are generally well liked and not afraid to get a little egg or water in their hair.

The only thing left to do is go out today, visit around, hear everything that happened that I missed, eat some leftovers and go swim with the kids, once again grateful to live among such energetic, fun loving and tolerant people.  By this time of day - 3 p.m. here most of the pueblo should be awake! 

Como siempre, con abrazos.

Maria

Comments

[1st Mate]

Mariners' Day was celebrated near here in Guaymas, too. One thing that's unique as far as I know is the torch parade, which commemorates the fishermen's wives who would shine torches on the beach to help the men find their way home.