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Candelaria in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz
January
29 - February 3, 2011
The Program
Photo Gallery
Program Cost
Registration Form
From the reaction of the participants, our 2010
program celebrating the festival of Candelaria in Tlacotalpan,
Veracruz, may have been the most successful excursion we have ever
had in over twenty years of taking groups to Mexico. We are
excited to be going back. We are also working with
photographer Denis Defibaugh to produce a book on the event so
2011 may be the last year it is our “special event.”
The
quiet town of Tlacotalpan, a UNESCO World Heritage city on the
Papaloapan River about an hour and one-half south of Veracruz city,
comes alive for several days to celebrate the town’s patron saint, the
Virgin of Candelaria. Featured
is a river procession as the image of the Virgin of Candelaria
is carried up and down the Papaloapan. With a population
of less than 10,000 people, Tlacotalpan hosts about 60,000 during
these few days in what is surely one of the most colorful events
in Mexico. We are pleased to be among the very few foreigners
to participate in this incredible event.
The
Program (back to top)
- Saturday,
January 29 - Arrive
in the city of Veracruz. Proceed
to a fine hotel in the center of the city (to be announced
when confirmed a little later). Visit some of the
historic and colorful sites in this famed port city. Dinner
and orientation at a downtown restaurant.
- Sunday,
January 30 - After
breakfast at Gran Café del Portal, travel to Tlacotalpan
and check in the Casa del Rio hotel, the finest in Tlacotalpan. Dinner
at Doña Lala restaurant in the center. Time
to explore the colorful streets of Tlacotalapn.
- Monday,
January 31 –After another meal at the Doña
Lala, watch the opening event of Candelaria, the Cabalgata, a
horseback parade of men, women, and especially children,
all dressed in the traditional clothes of the area. In
the evening is the formal beginning of the Encuentro,
the presentation of the typical jarocho music. There
are numerous other dance and music presentations on stages
set up throughout the town. And informally, there
is literally music in the streets 24 hours a day.
- Tuesday,
February 1 – As businesses and homes set up
barricades, a number of half-ton brahma bulls are prepared
to swim across the wide Papaloapan River to be unleashed
on the town. The bulls run wild through the streets,
people scream and run, and spectators watch from roof tops
and other places. We will find you a safe place to
watch the wild scene. We will have our major meal
at the Casa del Rio that day.
- Wednesday,
February 2 – This is the Virgin’s day. It
begins about 5 a.m. when many of the musicians and friends
and followers, who have been at it all night, proceed to
the Church to serenade the image of the Virgin of Candelaria. In
the late afternoon, the image is taken from the Church
and placed on a barge for a procession on the river. The
river is full of small boats making up a colorful procession. We
can arrange a boat ride if you want to join the procession,
or you can watch it all from a prime location at the riverfront
restaurant of the Casa del Rio. We will also have
our major meal at the Casa del Rio that day.
- Thursday,
February 3 – After breakfast we depart for the
Veracruz airport for the return to the United States.
Photo
Gallery (back
to top)
Program
Cost (back
to top)
Total cost of the program is $1475 per person. Single
supplement is $375. Cost includes one night double-occupancy
in a Veracruz hotel, and four nights double-occupancy accommodations
at the Casa del Rio in Tlacotalpan; breakfast and one major meal
daily; transportaion from Veracruz city to Tlacotalpan and return;
and guided tours and excursions.
Price does NOT include transportation
from the United States to Veracruz and the return flight to the
United States. You
must make your own arrangements.
Space in the program is very limited. A
non-refundable deposit of $200 per person will hold your place. Full
payment is due one-month before departure. No payments are
refundable after January 1, 2011.
405
LaFayette
Castroville, Texas 78009
830-538-2349
Toll Free: 1-800-693-5416
tierradelsol@netscape.net |
