Monday, June 18, 2007
Los Locos
Yesterday was perhaps the most fun of all San Miguel's religious festivals -- the Locos parade. Apparently it began in the 19th century as "an act of faith and devotion" where orchard workers danced to give thanks and ask their patron saint (Pascual Bailon) for a prosperous year. Since then, the event has evolved into a Mardi Gras-esque display of weird costuming and general eccentricity. Over 10,000 crazies participate! The San Francisco Chronicle once described Los Locos as a mix of the Gay Pride Parade and Brazil's Carnaval. If that's the case, we caught the PG-rated version this year, but nonetheless had a great time. Like at Mardi Gras, the participants toss goodies to the crowd. Candy, however, not trinkets. The family next to me collected enough to create a decade's worth of dental problems. To those of you who keep claiming to want to visit The Goots sometime, mark your 2008 calendar for the first Sunday after June 13th. Especially since a participant friend has agreed to get me into the parade next year... maybe as a giant gerbil.
# posted by goots @ 10:45 AM 
