My evening started out like this:
You see, they're celebrating the 485th anniversary of the city with a number of events going on throughout downtown and a few other locations around town. This was just an exhibition of traditional Mexican folk dancing. Well, this was nice, but I decided to move on and see what else there was of interest.
That's right; just another typical Sunday night in Querétaro. No, really, this actually goes on almost every night, but the orchestra usually only makes an appearance on the weekends. I was enjoying watching this, but then they kicked it up a notch. Keep an eye on the woman dancing with the man in the black hat.
So, www.blogger.com is telling me that the
video file which I wanted to place here is
too big for what they allow, therefore I will
paint you a picture. :) Well, if you refer to the
previous video, you may notice a woman wear-
ing a green (sarong...surong...serong...is it even
a...you know...that thing?)...well, whatever it's
called it's around her waist. Anyhoo, the music
kicked up a notch with a faster rhythm and so
did the aforementioned woman. You'll just have
to believe me that she stole the show with her rep-
ertoire of moves including several kicks and even
catching the dude in the hat she was dancing with
and holding pose for a couple of seconds. Trust
me that it was fantastic...and blame Blogger for
having to trust me.
So, things are progressing nicely. I'm having a pleasant evening, but there's more to see so I move on to discover what else I can find. I make my way through substantially dense crowds of people, and arrive at Plaza de los Fundadores.
Well, they were doing some sort of dramatic retelling of the history of the region (sorry, no video). I found it mildly interesting, so I decided to get a cup of agua de melón (melon juice), sit for a bit and then head back to the dancing. I stopped in Plaza de Armas (Plaza of the vomiting dogs...you'll see why later) on the way to sit for a spell and then made my way back to find the dancing still in full swing sans orchestra but with the music provided by a cd player and amp. I sat and observed for a while then headed back to Plaza de Armas, because it's my favorite spot in all of Querétaro. (Stick with me here because things are about to get awesome very soon.) I arrive back at Plaza de Armas to end a pleasant evening tranquilly (an idea nearly ruined by a girl randomly trying to start a fight with a woman based on an "alleged" insult...I'm not trying to be p.c. here. The girl accused the woman of calling her a chamaca, which is a mild insult at worst, plus I didn't hear it. It was a really strange scene, and something I've never witnessed before in all my time in Mexico. Anyway, now back to the story). So, we have arrived at the awesome part and why this ranks as one of the most amazing nights I've ever had in Mexico. So, shortly after the near fight occurred this happened fifty feet behind me!
I apologize for my bland expression here. I am awful at taking selfies and I refuse to improve.
It should be noted that the mascot for the Querétaro fútbol/soccer/football (covering my bases) team is the gallos blancos or white roosters, hence the rooster figures be waved around. Well, that sudden outburst of amazing turned into this even more amazing parade!, which I clearly had no choice but to join!
Well, this amazing parade continued around the block and led here!:
The entire parade was filing into this church, which I absolutely, positively had to enter!
That incredibleness continued to go on, which led to a chorus of Vivas!, which I absolutely, positively, undoubtedly joined in on! Sadly, I didn't get that part recorded, but after the "Vivas!" we were actually led in a short mass by the local priest urging the parishioners to remember to celebrate God during the week's festivities! And eventually I returned to Plaza de Armas to end my night tranquilly in my favorite spot in Querétaro!
And that's why I call it the Plaza of the vomiting dogs. See, I didn't forget. That's the way to end a trip to Querétaro!
