Mexican Spring Break Party: Celebrating Semana Santa
Tara A. Spears
Spring is always a happy time but coastal Mexico takes celebrating spring break to another level. The two week holiday period consists of semana santa, (holy week in Spanish, occurs before Easter) and semana Pascua (Easter and the following week) is a national Mexican holiday that provides vacation time for families to hit the beach. The area goes into party mode: exuberant children and adults fill the beaches to bursting; crowds dance along the clogged streets to strolling musicians and celebrate with fireworks, traditional foods, and lots of beer! No one can out do the Mexicans for enjoying life with impromptu fiestas for fun-in-the-sun.
Holy Week (semana santa) has been celebrated in Mexico since the first years of Spanish colonization, approximately since the eighteenth century. However, the two week observance of Easter became an official event in Mexico in the mid-1900s. This year Holy Week begins from Sunday, April 2, to Sunday, April 16. During this period employees in the hospitality industry will be working long hours in order to provide motel, restaurant and related services- be patient. Expect long lines for gas, groceries, restaurants and people watch to pass the wait time. If waiting in line is not in your skillset, shop in advance to avoid the situation.
While according to the Mexican Federal Labor Law, Holy Week is not a mandatory rest date, most companies usually grant holidays on Thursdays and Fridays of Holy Week. Many use their vacation time to be able to travel.
The best way to deal with this two week fiesta is to join in the fun. Relax and people watch: with every hotel and bungalow is overbooked for the two weeks of Easter/Semana Santa. The hordes of out-of-towners will naturally be utilizing the area stores and restaurants, so expect to wait in lines. Grocery stores have staples fly off the shelves as quickly as items are stocked; tour buses stake out parking places throughout the residential areas; and all other types of shops have brisk souvenir and hat sales making it a good idea to shop early in the day to avoid long lines.
In anticipation of the thirsty crowds, the local beer distributers have been working overtime to have enough beverages ready to go. It is typical for the stores to run out of regular size beer by Easter offering only the very small/chica’ or very large baleen/liter size. Stacks of beer line the entrance to the stores, and the bars set up street carts to offer micheladas (beer cocktails) and pina coladas in giant Styrofoam cups for the tourists.
The entire beach is where the action is centered. Mexican munchies such as shrimp on a stick, ice cream, fresh fruits, and tacos are sold by strolling vendors all along the beach. To help keep the children occupied, a wide variety of beach toys are available from other vendors in colorful carts. The frosting on the cake of a memorable beach day is the lively sounds of roving mariachi bands that have parents dancing in the sand. The variety of music is great, mostly rancho or mariachi, enjoyable to experience first-hand. Many families will hire the walking bands to perform at night especially if they rent a house so be prepared for all night long parties: the bands typically hire out from 10 pm-6am.
It is very impressive how the Guayabitos Hotel Association does advance planning in an effort to avoid problems and ensure a pleasant experience for all of the tourists. The government in coordination with the Association and has stepped up preparation of first responders because with so many people there are bound to have medical situations. The Life guards and EMTs have organized supplies and developed protocol; extra trash pick-up is arranged; military patrols of the packed beaches are scheduled as a deterrent to theft. It will be interesting to see if the recently opened toll road from Guadalajara eases some of the gridlock from the interior to the coastal destinations.
Whatever your personal feelings about crowds, this two week period is vital to the local economy. Unlike some beach destinations, Jaltemba Bay is family oriented so even with dancing in the streets and all night music, it is more restrained. It’s an exciting time, full of energy and fun. If all the celebrating is too much for you, try ear plugs and avoid the beach- it’s only for two weeks! On the other hand, you could join in and meet new people!
