What Happens at a Mexican Fiesta?

Eating

Be prepared to eat a large quantity of food. Typical foods at a Mexican Fiesta are tamales. Another favorite food is carne asada. This barbecued beef is eaten as a taco or alone with plenty of spicy salsa. At more formal parties mole is served. This is a sauce made of peanuts, chocolate and chili powder and other ingredients poured over chicken.

Guests drink different flavored waters such as horchata (a milky combination of rice and water), jamaica (a sweet red drink) and tamarindo (fruit drink). Watermelon or cantaloupe juice is also a favorite. Lemonade is made with green lemons instead of yellow. Adults may consume alcoholic beverages such as beer, tequila, wine, brandy, or cognac.

Dancing

Expect great music at a fiesta, usually provided by a DJ or a band. The music could include dance tunes called cumbias by, banda, salsa, or Mariachi songs by Javier Solis, Vicente Fernandez or Jose Alfredo Jimenez. There might be a Mariachi band dressed in traditional charro suits with sombreros, trumpets, violins and small guitars called vihuelas.

In larger pubic holiday and religious celebrations watch the ballet folklorico perform ritual danzas in the zocalo or in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. If you are in Vera Cruz do not miss the dance of the Voladores who make death defying leaps dressed in feathered costumes.

Pinatas and Pyrotechnics

Prepare yourself for an explosion. Mexican fiestas explode with the color of fireworks in the sky and end with broken pieces of paper, confetti and balloons as children scramble for colorful candies. Fireworks frequently fly into the air as people celebrate the Day of Independence, the day of a patron saint, or the beginning of a New Year. Children break pinatas on their birthdays and the day of their saint. In Vera Cruz dummies filled with paper and firecrackers explode in the streets to say good bye to the old year and welcome in the new.

References

• Mexican Fiestas