Not sure how the Oaxacan town of San Martin Tilcajete, known for its colorful and imaginative alebrije creatures, ended up with such an unusual wild and wacky celebration of Fat Tuesday, but it definitely is fun.
Instead of traditional Mardi Gras royalty, a bride and groom united in a mock ceremony reign over the festival. The bride is always a man dressed in drag and fittingly attired in an elegant white gown.
The former Convent of Merced Calzada dates from the early 1600s, but since 1841 it has been open to the public as the Museo de Bellas Artes.
The fine arts museum originally preserved and showcased works from closed convents and monasteries around Seville. The collection has grown through the years and includes works by some of the most famous painters associated with the city – Murillo, Zurbaran and Leal.
detail of retablo from el Convento de San Agustin, Martin de Vos, 1570
“Carro del Parnaso,” Domingo Martinez, 1748
“La Muerte del Maestro,” Jose Villegas Cordero, 1913
“Santas Justa y Rufina,” altar, Hernando de Valladares, circa 1620
detail of “Juico Final,” Martin de Vos, 1570
“San Jeronimo Penitente,” Pietro Torrigiano, 1525
detail of “Baile en la Taberna,” Manuel Rodriguez de Guzman, 1854
detail of retablo from el Convento de San Agustin, Martin de Vos, 1570
“San Miguel Arcangel,” Juan Hispalense, 1480
detail of “Juico Final,” Martin de Vos, 1570
detail of “La Muerte del Maestro,” Jose Villegas Cordero, 1913
“San Juan Evangelista ante Portam Latinum,” Juan Martinez Montanes, 1638
“Virgin con el Nino,” Francisco Niculoso el Pisano, circa 1500
“Carro de la Comun Alegria,” Domingo Martinez, 1748
detail of “La Santera,” Manuel Gonzalez Santos, 1930
detail of “Santa Ana ensenando a leer a la Virgen,” Juan de Roelas, 1615
Bellas Artes
“La Virgen de las Cuevas,” Francisco de Zurbaran, 1655
detail of “San Miguel Arcangel,” Juan Hispalense, 1480
detail of “Juico Final,” Martin de Vos, 1570
detail of “Juico Final,” Martin de Vos, 1570
Not uncharacteristically, I often found myself distracted by the tilework and the devils in the details.
As we were headed into the season of Semana Santa processions, the paintings of enormous horse-drawn floats from 18th-century Seville proved of particular interest. Although these bacchanalian-themed floats appear to be more closely associated with rowdy pre-Lenten Carnaval celebrations.
Brightly painted, intricately carved copal figures of real and fantasy animals, alebrijes, from the small town of San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca, are known around the world. Whole families of carvers pass down their traditional techniques to provide their livelihoods, with every home seeming to double as a retail outlet.
Every year they unleash that creativity to stage a mezcal-infused celebration of Carnaval, the final day of wild indulgence before Lent. Despite the loss of young men who have left to find work in el norte, there seemed to be no shortage of volunteers willing to smear their bodies in motor oil in hopes of planting kisses on young women unafraid of ruining their clothes. We witnessed no such embraces, but the afternoon was still young.
Other young men engaged in crossdressing, some quite convincing, as though there were not more women than men remaining in the community. The formally attired bridesmaids created a colorful entourage parading through the streets prior to the sham wedding of the bride and groom performed by a jovial padre of sorts.
Outsiders were embraced, so much to the point that our friend, Clyde, padre-looking himself, was drafted into the ceremony to provide the blessing of the bride and groom by exuberantly splashing water on them and anyone standing in close proximity.
American politicians should take note. We didn’t meet the town’s mayor, but he or she knows how to encourage enthusiastic support. The mayor’s ambassadors were freely distributing shots of mezcal and dipping into buckets of tepache and horchata to quench the thirst of all, whether residents or tourists.
Maybe San Antonio should forget spending money on expensive advertising for visitors. Mayor Ivy Taylor simply needs to enlist volunteers to offer complimentary shots of tequila and margaritas along the River Walk. Word of mouth about San Antonio’s hospitality would spread like wildfire.
Postcards from Barton Springs 