My Halloween Birthday Girl

Greetings loyal reader. Join Bruce and Mary as they celebrate Mary’s birthday number……haha, not gonna do it, you’ll just have to guess! It is also Dia de Los Muertos which is a high holiday in Mexico, which adds to the fun. As usual for those of you who prefer to view these posts from the original website, please click here.

My Birthday Girl

It is hard to believe that this is Mary’s third consecutive BD  down here, but to tell the truth, it is getting harder to believe that we ever lived that old dog-eat-dog life back in Minnesota. And speaking of which, one thing we don’t miss about that old life is the cost of everything. In fact that is what I really dislike about visits back to the States, the sticker shock. In our old lives just a BD dinner alone would run a minimum of $50. Down here we can spend a whole evening barhopping and even with a great dinner thrown in we don’t approach $50.  Now, because we are working stiffs once again (it’s really not that bad, we work  M-F from our computers, poolside) we celebrated Mary’s Halloween BD last night as tonight is a school night for us. So come along as we do Mary’s BD Mexican style.

Our first stop, the beautiful bar at Casa Lucia, a boutique hotel on Calle 60.

A toast to many more, at La Casa Lucia.

And another toast from the sidewalk cafe of Peon Contreras Restaurante.

Courtesy Peon Contreras, a simple but delightful presentation: Mary’s Bohemia Obscura and my Pina Colada with chips and salsa.

This is the scene at dusk in La Plaza Grande. It seems every square foot of the park is reserved for the building of family shrines. We notice that there are private and municipal trucks employed in the transport of construction materials to the park. We are very curious about the details of the city’s involvement. But however things are arranged, the entire park becomes a very organized construction site.

It’s a family affair.

A completed shrine with mementos and offerings of food to the dearly departed. All these shrines will be completed by midnight or so and by no later than noon tomorrow, El Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead (Halloween) there will be no evidence of these shrines ever having been here, at La Plaza Grande.

The view of La Plaza Grande from our balcony table at Restaurante Mr. Banderas. With this beehive of activity to entertain us we enjoy a dinner for two to cap Mary’s BD celebration. Que Bueno!

Thanks for visiting gentle reader. Bruce and Mary are impressed with the Latin observation of El Dia de Los Muertos in that so much love and devotion goes into the honoring and memory of dearly departed ones. One hates to say it but their celebration makes the American tradition of Halloween costume parties seem pretty shallow, and it’s not like Mexicanos don’t know how to party either. Bruce is really interested in your opinion on this or anything else, for that matter. Hasta luego!