Tag Archives: Carnaval

List of Carnavál Floats and Dancers, 2014

1525675_613881078684076_1820584939_nCULTURA has just released this list of the floats and dance troupes that will appear in this year’s Carnavál parades. Print this out and bring it with you to the parade, so you know what’s what and who’s who!

There will be 34 floats constructed by seven different teams, 23 dance troupes, seven typical Sinaloan tamboras de viento, five bands, plus two percussion groups and two school bands, who will ensure that all attending test our their dance moves!

The parade this year will be in four sections, as usual.

First Section
Homage to Carnavál in Rio
Queen of Carnavál 2014 Lorena I

  1. Police
  2. Fireworks
  3. ECIMI
  4. PRIMERA PLUS
  5. Band from Technical Secondary School #5
  6. Float #1: Pacífico Brewery, Carnavál sponsors, created by Jorge González Neri
  7. Comparsa/dance group: Percusiones en la  Costa  Grupo Percusiones
  8. Float #2: Percussions on the Coast, designed and produced by Monofaber
  9. Comparsa/dance group: Splendor in Rio
  10. Float #3: Splendor in Rio, created by Monofaber, with models from Brasil, Mazatlán, Colima and Durango
  11. Electric Car: Brazil Tiger, first car with LED lighting
  12. Float #4: The Amazon, designed by Graciano Grande, with professional models
  13. Comparsa/dance troupe: A Mandela
  14. Float # 5:  A Mandela, designed by Jorge González Neri, homage to the African leader Nelson Mandela.
  15. Comparsa/dance troupe: Sol Brasileño
  16. Float #6: Sun, Sea and Fantasy, created by Jorge González Neri and representing South American nature
  17. Comparsa/dance troupe: Volando a Rio
  18. Float #7: Flying to Rio, created by Jorge González Neri, the sights of Rio
  19. Rolling sculpture of recently departed Carnavál Maestro Rigo Lewis
  20. Float #8: Royal Carriage of the Queen of Carnavál
  21. Float #9: The Sphinx of Cleopatra, 50 Year Anniversary of Queen Lupita V (1964)

Second Section
Homage to Carnavál in Venice
Queen of the Floral Games 2014 Marcela I

  1. Comparsa/dance troupe: Mexico-Japan Association (Nikkei), celebrating 400 years of the first diplomatic mission from Japan to Mexico.
  2. Float #10: Saint John the Baptist, the name given in Spanish to the Japanese ship Date Maru of the Hasekura Expedition to New Spain. Float created by Monofaber.
  3. Comparsa/dance troupe: Mexico-Japan Association
  4. Comparsa/dance troupe: Carruaje Sobre el Adriático
  5. Float #11: Carriage on the Adriatic
  6. Comparsa/dance troupe: León Veneciano
  7. Float #12: The Venetian Lion, symbol of the power of the Venetian Duke, created by Jorge González Neri, characteristic of a gondola
  8. Comparsa/dance group: Spirit of Carnavál
  9. Float #13: Spirit of Carnavál, Venetian personalities from the art of comedy: Harlequin, Pierrot, and Colombin, by Jorge González Neri
  10. Comparsa/dance troupe: Imperial Horses
  11. Float #14: Imperial Horses, Maestro Jorge González Neri.
  12. Comparsa/dance troupe: Venetian Masks
  13. Electric Car: Venetian Masks
  14. Float #15: Venetian Maks, by Jorge González Neri 
  15. Float #16: Perfume of Carnavál, the costumes and decorations of Venetian Carnavál, by Jorge González Neri
  16. Float #17: Royal Carriage of the Queen of the Floral Games, by Francisco Igartúa, respecting the style that Rigo Lewis established for Carnavál de Mazatlán for more than 50 years.
  17. Float #18: The Winged Lion, illuminated work of Jorge Osuna, Henry Wilson and Rafael Mitchell Cruz, representing the legend of Mark the Evangelist who was greeted by an angel on Lake Venice, ascending to heaven and returning to earth as a winged lion.
  18. Comparsa/dance troupe: Venetian Harlequins
  19. Float #19: Venetian Harlequins, illuminated sculpture by Jorge Osuna, Henry Wilson and Rafael Mitchell Cruz.

Third Section
Homage to Carnavál of New Orleans
Child Queen 2014 Zuszet I

  1. Musical Band from Puebla, guest school
  2. Electric Car: The Harlequin
  3. Comparsa/dance troupe: Masquerade
  4. Float #20: Masquerade, the masks and contagious musical rhythms of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, by Jorge Osuna, Henry Wilson and Rafael Mitchell Cruz.
  5. Comparsa/dance troupe: Flor de Lis
  6. Float #21: Flor de Lis, which will transport the Queen of Poetry 2014. Signifies New Orleans’ origins as a French colony, created by Jorge Osuna, Henry Wilson and Rafael Mitchell Cruz.
  7. Float #22: Challenge in the Swamp, commemorating the pagan spiritual traditions of New Orleans. Created by Jorge Osuna, Henry Wilson and Rafael Mitchell Cruz.
  8. Electric car: Crab, created by Jorge Osuna, Henry Wilson and Rafael Mitchell Cruz.
  9. Float #23: Carnavál on the Sea, created by Jorge Osuna, Henry Wilson and Rafael Mitchell Cruz.
  10. Float #24: Royal Carriage of the Child Queen, in the traditional style of Dr. Rigoberto Lewis.
  11. Comparsa/dance troupe: Wind, Percussion and Harlequins
  12. Electric car: Saxophone, music of New Orleans
  13. Float #25: Wind, Percussions and Harlequins, Ana Becerra debuts as a float designer. This float will transport Elba María Alcalá, commemorating her 25th anniversary as Child Queen, in 1989.
  14. Comparsa/dance troupe: See You Later Alligator
  15. Float #26: See You Later Alligator, which will transport Culiacán’s Child Queen. Float by González Neri, sponsored by El Debate.
  16. Comparsa/dance troupe: Bird Over Louisiana
  17. Float #27: Bird Over Louisiana, the diverse ecosystem of the New Orelans area, by Maestro González Neri.

Fourth Section
Homage to Carnavál of Havana
King of Joy 2014 Adolfo Blanco

  1. Electric car: Rio
  2. Comparsa/dance troupe: INAPAM María Elena Ríos (three cars from the port/API, with elderly women)
  3. Float #28: Tropical Bird, by Monofaber with professional models
  4. Comparsa/dance troupe: Cuban Flavor
  5. Float #29: Cuban Flavor, drum rhythms since the times of slavery, memories of Carnavál’s history. Royal Court of the King 2013 will ride on this float designed by Maestro González Neri.
  6. Electric car: Cubana
  7. Comparsa/dance troupe: Burn the Bongo
  8. Float #30: Burn the Bongo, muñecones and mamarrachos are distinctive of Carnavál in La Habana, complete with pots and pans as drums. Ramón Loaiza will ride this float to commemorate his 25th Anniversary as King of Joy. Float by González Neri.
  9. Float #31: Royal Carriage of the King of Joy 2014, by Jorge González Neri
  10. Float #32: Monarchs of the Caribbean, by González Neri.
  11. Comparsa/dance troupe: Play, Black Man
  12. Float #33: Play, Black Man, rolling float by González Neri 
  13. Electric car: Cuba
  14. Comparsa/dance troupe: Cuban Rhythms
  15. Float #34: Cuban Rhythms, rhythms and melodies from the island colonized by Spaniards and inhabited by African slaves, with a bit of Asian immigration thrown in. Float by González Neri.
  16. Police
  17. Civil Protection

Carnavál de Mazatlán 2014 Final Details

Photo of Belinda from Wikipedia

Photo of Belinda from Wikipedia

Are you ready?!!! Some last-minute details have been released, in order to build anticipation for this major event, Carnavál Internacional de Mazatlán 2014, Litoralia!

Belinda, yes the Belinda who duets with Pitbull, is confirmed to be on the Pacífico float in Carnavál this year. The Burning of Bad Humor this year will be Lucerito, the actress who infamously went hunting with her partner for endangered animals, despite the huge outcry to burn Predial for its billing fiasco.

Photo ©Banda El Recodo

Photo ©Banda El Recodo

While the light parade and fireworks on the malecón that traditionally take place Monday night appeared in early CULTURA announcements, it seems that they indeed will not take place this year. In some places it has been announced they will take place in Olas Altas (party zone). My guess is that the change is due to the addition of the Banda El Recodo and Los Recoditos concerts on Monday and Fat Tuesday, respectively. Both concerts are scheduled to start at 10:00 pm. This means much more music than ever this year!

This year we lost our beloved Carnavál-meister, Maestro Rigo Lewis. Maestro Jorge González Neri has made a sculpture of Rigo, and it will appear in the parade ahead of the Queen of Carnaval’s royal float, in the same position that Maestro Rigo walked every year.

As I’ve mentioned previously, we will have a Japanese float and comparsa/two dance troupes this year, with over 120 dancers! They will dance Japanese festival style, to a mashup of Japanese traditional and salsa music, to celebrate 400 years of Japan-Mexico diplomatic relations. Banzai!

The main parade begins on Sunday at 5:30 pm from the Fisherman’s Monument and heads north to Valentino’s/Rafael Buelna. Chairs, tables, and bleachers are already lining the malecón. Lorena I, Queen of Carnavál and her entourage—including princesses Siu Ying Audelo, Daniela García and Harriet Vázquez, will be decked out in homage to Rio’s Mardi Gras. The Floral Games contingent, headed by Queen Marcela I and including the princesses Harriet Carreón and Pamela de la Vega,will pay tribute to the Carnavál of Venice. Adolfo Blanco, the King of Joy, will head up a group of floats and dancers celebrating the Carnavál of La Habana. In total the parade will include 34 floats, 23 dance and musical groups, involving 2000 people, 300 of whom will ride on the floats. Here is our video compilation from last year’s (2013) Carnavál parade:

Be sure to turn out early for either of the two parades, Sunday or Tuesday, as it’s great for photographs and video. The second parade starts at the Aquarium at 4:00 pm on March 4th, heading south to Olas Altas. Our video compilation of pre-parade from two years ago, below:

Over 30,000 people filled Olas Altas party zone Thursday night for the Chuy Lizárraga and Las Horóscopos de Durango concert, according to the Noroeste, and it is predicted 80,000 will attend the El Recodo concert on Monday night. I can personally attest that Thursday was wall-to-wall crowded. I can not imagine how 80,000 people will fit in Olas Altas. Be careful and stay calm and happy, everyone!

According to Mazatlán Interactivo, groups scheduled to perform in Olas Altas party zone this year, all beginning at 10:00 pm, include:

  1. Stage by the Escudo/Seal of Sinaloa: Banda los Porteños
  2. Stage on Sixto Osuna: Banda Crucero
  3. Stage between Sixto Osuna and Constitución: Fussion Teens, Notas Latinas
  4. Stage on Constitución: Banda Legal, Banda Dorada
  5. Stage on Mariano Escobedo: Grupo Ritmo Playa, Grupo Once Rios
  6. Stage by the Deer Statue: La Rezaka, Hermanos Romero
  7. Stage by the Mazatlecan Woman: Banda Patty, Los Navegantes
  8. Stage below the Mirador: Grupo Nueva Estrella, Sentido Contrario
  9. Stage at the Cliff Divers (Sánchez Taboada): Banda La Conquistadora, Grupo Zen Evolución Musical
  10. Stage at Zaragoza: Uva Show, Banda Cam

For a full schedule of events, visit CULTURA’s Carnavál page.

Carnaval de Mazatlán 2014

Carnavál de Mazatlán 2014—this year with the theme Litoralia: Skin of the Sea—is fast approaching! To build some excitement and get your energies flowing, I post a few of the videos we’ve take during Carnavál the past couple of years. Get out your masks and confetti, put on your dancing shoes, and enjoy!

2012 Preparations for 2nd Parade
Great video of the kids rehearsing, putting on makeup, eating, and horsing around:

2013 Main Parade
Video from street level of the main parade at night, with dancers coming out to dance with us in the crowd and closeups of those in the parade.

2012 Queen Karla Coronation Fireworks
Video of the fireworks over the stadium——filmed from a distance where they can best be viewed——during the coronation of the 2012 Carnavál Queen, Karla.

2012 Main Parade
VERY short (30 second) view from the street, with closeups of the performers.

Remember that Mazatlán’s Carnavál is now the second largest in the world. In addition to the two main parades, the four coronations including their concerts and show productions, two huge fireworks displays, and this year’s additional two concerts by El Recodo and Los Recoditos, there is ALSO a bullfight, painting and literature competitions, a gastronomic festival, a fair (with rides, county fair style), a couple of balls (a children’s ball and a masquerade ball), and the party zone in Olas Altas, where dozens of bands will play each night, till the wee hours of the morning.
View CULTURA’s calendar for this year’s Carnavál here.
View details of the normal annual events here.

Ready for Carnaval de Mazatlán 2014?

1515044_617581938313990_1319879249_n

Shoreline: The Skin of the Sea is the closest I can get to translating this year’s rich Carnavál theme, which will unite Mazatlán with the Mardi Gras of New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago de Cuba, and Venice, which are all located on the water, of course. Are you getting excited? It’s hard not to, with lights already hung along the Avenida del Mar parade route, and all the great photos people keep sending me. February 27-March 4th is coming soon!

Two great pieces of personal Carnavál news for me this year! One is that our recently departed dear Maestro Rigo’s two wishes, which we reported to you last year, will be realized! This year’s float for the Queen will be 15 meters tall! Secondly, on this 400th anniversary of Japan-Mexico relations, we will have a Japanese float and comparsa/dance troupe in the parade this year! And, they will do a tequila-odori!

My friend Sandra and I with our Mayor, State Secretary of Tourism, and Esperanza Kasuga, who is organizing Mazatlán's celebration of the 400th anniversary of Japanese-Mexico relations.

My friend Sandra and I with our Mayor, State Secretary of Tourism, and Esperanza Kasuga, who is organizing Mazatlán’s celebration of the 400th anniversary of Japanese-Mexico relations.

While we have lost Maestro Rigo to this life, his two carrozas, for Queen and Child Queen, are about 60% finished. His sister, Ana Lewis Rodríguez, is continuing his legacy, at least for this year. She says that Rigo’s dream was to have the Queen’s float (with a Brazilian theme this year) crowned with 300 ostrich feathers. Since each one costs 100 pesos, there will perhaps be some fundraising involved to make that happen. The 15 meter height for the float, which Rigo dreamed of, also requires special materials, not just the standard papier maché. So, here’s hoping…

This morning I received photos of the seamstresses working on the royal costumes, which seem to get more luxurious and fantastical every year. Enjoy the sneak peek! Sodelva Rios de García and her team have been making the royal costumes for almost 40 years. You’ll remember that we showed you the King of Joy’s vestments she made last year.

Photo courtesy of CULTURA

Do you know that CULTURA’s costume department produces over THREE HUNDRED costumes for Carnavál each year?! Our kudos to Elisa Espinoza, head of the costume department! While the women are primarily in charge of the costuming, props are coordinated by two gentlemen: Adrián Javier Ledesma Ruíz and Jesús Julio Robles Jaramillo.

This year the Child Queen will be dressed with a French influence, in honor of New Orleans, in gold, silver, purple and green. Some of the vestments for the dancers, which have to be comfortable as well as free-moving, will be finely detailed with airbrush. The King of Joy’s theme is Cuba—the colors will be vivid, tropical colors with a lot of shine and ruffles.

Photo courtesy CULTURA Mazatlán

Photo courtesy CULTURA Mazatlán

The election of the Queen this year will take place on Saturday, February 15th, in the Angela Peralta theater. As in recent years, the candidates will model designer evening dresses and clothing designed by Jacobo Borge and Sandra Vite, and jewelry designed by Gustavo Helguera (whose designs have been worn by Naomi Campbell and Carolina Kurkova).

Are you trying to plan your trip here or your friends’ stays? Or how you’ll navigate all the Carnavál events? Check out this “Why We Love Carnavál” so you can pace yourself and your energy. Remember that this year El Recodo will play Monday night, which is traditionally the night of the fireworks on the malecón and the light parade—even more events than in a normal, very full Carnavál year.

I keep wanting to make it over to Maestro Jorge González Neri’s taller, to see what he’s up to (LOVE seeing the works in progress!), but life has just been too busy (5 sets of visitors over the holidays, the 25th anniversary of my business in 2014, and the 10th anniversary of my Cultural Detective project coming up in February, plus just so many events in town)! Here is a peek from last year at this time: Monigotes—The Making of a Giant Statue. The work these artists do for our pleasure is truly remarkable!

photo from CULTURA

photo from CULTURA

I’m excited with all the musical acts this year, and that amidst the international-caliber classical music selections we also see three major banda that originate in our hometown: El Recodo, Los Recoditos, and Chuy Lizárraga. What a proud reclaiming of our roots! Say, do you recall the songs of Carnavál from recent years? While, to my knowledge, there is no annual “official” Carnavál song, each year there seems to be that song that gets played and replayed so much that it comes to represent our memories of that year. Greg wrote a post about that, read it here and test your memory.

I suppose the next thing is to wait till the monigotes or giant statues get put up, as well as the flags along the parade route. While we wait, I suggest we all get our “skin of the sea” wear in order!

Street View: Carnavál de Mazatlán 2013, Desfile Principal

35. Velociraptors

The mechanical triceratops in the parade this year.
Photo © John Matzick, an award-winning local photographer. Used with permission.

We are blessed with wonderful friends, but somehow we have a lot more friends every year at Carnavál. Everyone we haven’t seen in months suddenly calls and wonders how we’re doing. Why? Coincidence, we’re sure, that we live on the parade route. And thank goodness, because what a terrific annual party it makes! We are blessed to have friends who are willing to make incredible homemade botanas to share, and then hike in with them because the street is closed, to join us for the fiesta.

This year was even better than usual. The theme of Carnavál was just so much fun: La Linterna Mágica, the magic of the movies. There were over 39 floats, loads of marching bands, and dozens of dance troupes. We screamed and danced till we dropped!

Below is the movie I made of the main parade this year. Thank you for watching and sharing the one I made last year; I hope you’ll enjoy this one as well. While all the floats were outstanding, and we are loving this tradition of three nights of parades, Greg’s and my favorite float this year was E.T. The Extraterrestrial. The float itself was incredible, and the kids on their bikes (lit up with 9 volt batteries taped to the frames) were just incredible.

Other family favorites were the velociraptors from Jurassic Park. We talked with the young man from Monofaber (DF) as he put the finishing touches on them. I have now forgotten his name (please contact me if you read this!), but he is so incredibly talented! He was responsible and wouldn’t let me take photos because it was before Carnavál and he didn’t want to ruin the excitement. But he had designed the mechanics for the functioning mouth, as well as designed and executed the body, teeth, etc. for VERY realistic looking and functioning velociraptors! They were powered by humans, much like a life-sized puppet. Extremely cool. Watch the movie and you’ll see one in action about halfway through.

Below is a slideshow of most of the floats in the parade (I’m missing The Little Mermaid; I have video but no photos). Involved in Carnavál since 1961, Maestro Rigoberto Lewis designed and supervised the making of the Carrozas Reales or royal floats, as he has for decades. I was heartbroken to speak with him this year and have him tell me that this, Carnavál 2013, would be his last! You can see his unique and incredibly luxurious, gorgeous float-making style in the photos below. Carnavál de Mazatlán without Maestro Rigo???!!! No!!!! He told me he had two wishes that he would love for me to pass on to our readers:

  1. Please get CULTURA and the city to remove the overhead wires so that the floats can be as tall as needed and not be impeded. While the north gate from Olas Altas and the stop light at Playa Norte are both removed to allow passage of the parade, this year, there were even wires holding up the monigotes that blocked the parade route.
  2. Please secure some real, indoor talleres or workshops for the making of the floats. Readers of this blog know that Maestro Rigo’s taller is small, old, and dark, and Maestro Neri’s taller is open air.

Come on, Mazatlecos, surely we can help make these wishes happen for Maestro Rigo, and take Carnavál to the next level!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We hope to see you at this community-wide event next year! Carnavál Internacional de Mazatlán is scheduled to be held February 27 to March 5, 2014.