| Caption | For almost a month around The Feast Day of San Marcos April 25, the city of Aguascalientes in the State of Aguascalientes in the central north of Mexico, hosts one of the world’s greatest public celebrations. About 10 city blocks and a giant stadium in this charming colonial town of giant plazas and broad streets are blocked to traffic and set aside to accommodate hundreds of thousands of revelers who come from all over the Republic to experience the events surrounding what started in1828 as an agricultural and cattle show and evolved into la Feria de Ferias, the Fair of Fairs. The street party goes around the clock; music and dance, food and drink are a big part of the Feria Nacional de San Marcos but entertainment also includes bull fights, cock fights, performances by the country’s most famous Ranchero singers and a charreada rodeo as well as very large, noisy and crowded gambling halls. But the real party is in the street and in the parque san Marcos, where, night and day, scores of strolling Banda minstrels with tuba, drum and upright bass can be hired for a song and who will follow your group faithfully around for as long as you care to dance and share their boisterous gaiety with the other crowds of passers-by. Seen here is the entrance to the Parque San Marcos, right in the heart of the Fair and a welcome oasis of some greenery amidst the often chaotic street scenes. |
