CARNAVAL de MERIDA, YA' LL

Sazerac

The Official Cocktail of 

New Orleans

1 sugar cube, 2 1/2 ounces Makers Mark, 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters, 1 dash Angostura bitters, Absinthe, 1 sugar cube & lemon peel.  In an Old-Fashioned glass, muddle a sugar cube with a few drops of water. Add several small ice cubes and the whiskey, the Peychaud's bitters, and the Angostura bitters.  Stir well and strain into a second, chilled, Old-Fashioned glass in which you have rolled around a few drops of absinthe until its inside is thoroughly coated, pouring off the excess. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.


Like adjusting a loose bra strap, Merida, with her resemblance to my native home of New Orleans, fiddles with my clasp on attachments and flexibility.  In one moment she makes my heart explode as she saturates the world with color and heart stopping scenes. The significant difference in visual and olfactory of Carnaval, makes my heart ache, just a teeny-tiny-small-small-small amount, to be with Sailor Girl Lola and Friends.  

This is nothing new for me.  To relieve the seismic pull that Mardi Gras holds over my souls' identity, I hosted gumbo and king cake parties during grad school in Berkeley, and over the twenty years I lived in Austin. Last year I had the Beach Gals over for an Epiphany party, the 12th night after Christmas, and the announcement of Carnival season.

Left: Merida : Right: New Orleans

On Mardi Gras Day 2012, though some of the morning was spent at the Plaza Grande of Merida, my excitement was the anticipation of participating in a unique experience to be shared with friends from the beach.  My dear friend, Elizabeth Arnott, arranged a Mayan cleansing ceremony at her home, Sac Nicté, located in the village of Cuzama. 

This year I have been fortunate enough to receive exceptional seating along the Merida parade route.  Fellow bloggers, Marc Olson, writer of An Alaskan in Yucatan and in part responsible for my final selection to live in the Yucatan, and my new friend, Paul Rounds, who composes detailed accounts of the city in his blog post on Hammock Musings From Merida, had great fun introducing me to the joys of catching a hamburger at a night parade.  You read that right, I said a hamburger!  The throws down South are provided by the commercial sponsors of the floats.  Last nights parade included Crystal, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Sol, and Burger King.  I'm fairly certain that there is a competition to see which of them, Marc or Paul, can catch the most hamburgers. Lord only knows what will happen at tonight's parade when I catch a cheeseburger!

Left: Merida : Right: New Orleans

While we waited in our box seats for the parade to begin, rodeo style clowns tossed giant rubber balls to the crowds.  The little boy seated next to me was absolutely thrilled when he had a single opportunity to touch that ball.  Teenage girls, dressed as fairies, flew down the street, blowing whistles while their barker shouted something that Marc and I thought sounded like, "Otra (Other)!", but turned out to be the marketing name of a new candy the fairies threw into the crowd. Maybe tonight we will catch one and know its' true name.  Vendors continued to pass through the street offering their wares to those seated behind the barricades.  The family in the box next to ours, dressed as black cats, had their picture taken, printed on the spot and placed in a keepsake key chain.  Amazingly, the shaman who performed the blessing ceremony at Sac Nicte last year, approached, attempting to sell us some type of Mayan sacred bracelet.  He seemed rather surprised when Marc told him that I had received a blessing from him a year ago.  I suppose that no matter where you are, eventually, every place feels like a small town.

More tomorrow!

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