The big Mérida Carnaval parade used to go through the historic centre, but has outgrown the narrow streets and now takes place about a half hour car ride from here. Ted and I didn’t think we were quite ready for the crushing crowds that generally attend the parade, BUT… the CHILDRENS Carnaval parade still goes down Calle 60, from Plaza Grande to Plaza Santa Lucia, and that’s where we headed this afternoon to see school and dance groups strut their stuff.

This year’s Carnaval theme is “cultures and adventures, making the world a better place”. The idea was to present “fantastic stories that have been part of human imagination, including legends, tales of gods, mythologies, creatures and beasts, distant lands and extraordinary worlds where humanity has created its existence through the stories of the ancestors.”

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The way schools interpreted this theme was with African, Asian, Egyptian, Indian, and Polynesian themes, as well as a representation of pre-hispanic Mayan Mexico.

Each group was preceded by a truck with a sound system booming the music to which their walking choreography was performed.

As I looked through the parade pictures after getting home, I noticed how tired some of the little faces looked. The parade route was about an hour (we were at the end point), and these kids – some as young as 4 – danced almost the entire time!

In a few cases, the adults (teachers) were also in costume, but for the most part the parade focussed on the children.

What follows are parade pictures, in order, but uncaptioned. It’ll be the smiles we want to remember when we look back at today’s memories.

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