Live or Retire in Mexico: Enjoy the Zocalo September 2
When you retire in Mexico you can enjoy a special aspect of Mexican society, gathering in the zocalo to spend a couple of relaxed hours. Sundays are especially big for going to the zocalo. Each city’s zocalo has its own character created by the layout, trees and flowers, benches, items sold by vendors, and habitual artists and performances.
Cuernavaca’s zocalo has some award winning shade trees and plenty of benches. Vendors in Cuernavaca sell elotes (corn on the cob), esquites (corn cut off the cob), liquados (fruit, milk, etc. in the blender), icecream, traditional candies, raspados (snow cones), pottery plaques, hammocks, photos of you on a paper machet horse, colorful baskets, beaded necklaces, and cheap rind stone belts, among other things. Before you decide where to live in Mexico, see if you like hanging out in the zocalo. It’s such a nice part of living in Mexico.
Entertainment in the Cuernavaca zocalo sometimes leaves something to be desired since, unlike Oaxaca, Merido, Puebla, and Palenque and many other cities throughout Mexico, there is rarely a free concert. Still, there is a group of older citizens dancing ballroom dance on Fridays and Sundays and there are the clowns.
If you can understand Spanish, the ribald clowns can be funny. Today they had us giggling harder than ever. We caught the beginning of the show and so were standing in the front of the crowd near the white chalk line they have painted on the paving stones to delineate their open air stage. Being in the front helped me to hear and better understand the jokes.
They brought up 5 young boys from the crowd and had them help with the show by standing perfectly still while being tickled by a “snake” (balloon) to show their bravery. Of course the boys are as cute as the dickens and doing their best so that they could win balloon art toys as prizes. The thing that really made me laugh was when the boys had to wear rubber masks of former President Salinas, Subcomandante Marcos, a chimpanzee from Land of the Apes, former President Fox, and an almost alien looking character with his cheeks puffed out and his mouth as tight and round as an …. well, you know.
The tiny boys couldn’t see through the eye holes well, and of course the clown knew how to play off of that to a “T.” The boys, of course, where doing their best to cooperate. It’s not funny unless you are there, so I’ll leave it at that, but make a mental note before you retire in Mexico to get to know your local zocalo. It could be worth a few good laughs. When was the last time you went to a park near your home and had some free entertainment? You’ve got to love and live in Mexico!