To come to the Mazatlan Carnaval is an experience that one should not miss!

Mazatlán is already starting the preparation to top what it has been considered the best Carnaval in Mazatlán's history. From February 16th to 21st, the city will live again the joy and festivity of the traditional Carnaval International on it's 114 edition.

The 2012 Carnival will be a spectacular event, whose celebrants will include local, national and international participants alike, in a 24/7 fiesta that has so well characterized the communal heart of the "Mazatlecos" for over a century.

The activities featured in Mazatlán's International Carnival include: Official presentation of the candidates for King of Joy, Queen of the Floral Games, Queen of the Carnival, and Infant Queen; Crowning of the King and the Queens; "allegorical vehicles" (carriage floats) parade; the symbolic ritual of the "Bad Mood Burning," the Naval Battle; the Evening of the Arts; the "Anything Goes" Ball; the "Children's Ball," the International Pacific Queen Contest and the recognition of local artists and poets through the "Clemencia Isaura Award" for Poetry, "Mazatlán Award" for literature and the "Antonio López Sáenz Award" for painting.

Mazatlan International Carnaval is distinguished by being the only Carnaval in México and the World that combines fiesta and cultural and artistic activities.

To come to the Mazatlan Carnaval is an experience that one should not miss!

What is the Mazatlan's International Carnival?

Mazatlan's International Carnival is a seven day, multi-event celebration filled with live music, folklore, dance, entertainment and costumes depicting indigenous traditions, where diverse celebrants of all generations gather within a joyful ambience of magical exaltation.

History

The modern conception of "Carnaval" is historically traced to the public street celebrations of over a century ago, which in turn were based on the purifying seasonal rituals dating to antiquity. These early celebrations featured participants adorned in colored eggshells and scented flour and ashes, which reflected a transition from the humoristic mood to that of the grotesque. This early expression of Carnaval also carried with it vestigial features of the archaic traditions, which spoke to the dictates of chaos in the world and the tearing down of social barriers. Carnaval thus marked a brief moment when the rules were relaxed and transgressions were forgiven. Merchants and dock workers took to the fields in stone throwing confrontations.

Towards the end of the Nineteenth Century, the festival took a sociopolitical turn. The most popular form of Carnaval was organized by the military and celebrated in May of each year, to commemorate the victory of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza over the French army in Puebla.

In 1898 an assembly of Mazatlan dignitaries led by a local doctor implemented the use of carriages and bicycles in the parade, and replaced the scented flour with confetti. The Mazatlan newspaper, "La Lechuza," published the first account of the Mazatlecan Carnival.

That same year, a celebrated American beauty, Wilfrida Farme, was crowned the First Queen of the Carnival of Mazatlan, her reign supplanting the Ugly Kings and Buffoons of the grotesque era. Queen Wilfreda made her grand entrance into the city seated atop a trolley car drawn by mules, and escorted by chamberlains, ministers and an entire operatic company. Carnival 1898 also marked the first celebration of the Grand Ball of Costumes in the ballroom Círculo Benito Juárez.

21^st Century Mazatlan Carnival: Festivities and Traditions

Naval Combat
Place: Olas Altas

On Saturday evening the harbor skies will glow with stunning fireworks displays, the air filled with the sights and sounds of the laser show, Naval Combat, a re-creation of the harbor's successful defense against French invasion by Mexican forces. The pyrotechnic bangs and shots simulate cannonades exchanged over sea and land during the battle between the Mazatlecos and the French man-of-war, "Le Cordeliere."

Parades

First Parade
Place: Avenida del Mar

The most highly-anticipated event of the Carnival of Mazatlan is the carriage float (or "allegorical" carriages) parade, which takes place on Sunday. The waterfront is transformed into a sea of thousands, Mazatleco families and visitors gathering to enjoy the parade of fantasies conceived by carriage float creator Rigoberto Lewis

Second Parade
Place: Avenida del Mar

The second celebration takes place the following Tuesday, when Mazatlecans bid farewell to the procession as the carriages travel the waterfront line southwards. In this second parade, the Royal Court, Joy characters, thematic groups and other participants join together in a multi-colored swath through the Carnival zone along the Paseo de Olas Altas.

Both events are free.

Crownings

Crowning of the King of Joy
Free Event

In its early origins the Carnival included the election of the Ugly King, the male protagonist of the Carnival festivities. Since 1965, the title of Sovereign was changed to King of Joy, reaffirming the positive spirit underlying Carnival.

Crowning of the Queen of Floral Games

Each year, the creative intelligence of poets receive due homage during the Floral Games of the Carnival, in a multiple consecration event. A Poet Laureate crowns the Queen, who in turn delivers the Natural Flower and Poetry prizes. The Clemencia Isaura Poetry Award has since 1937 also occupied a prominent place in the Carnival agenda. The judges of the Poets Laureate are Carlos McGregor Giacinti, Rosario Uriarte, Herminio Martínez, Abigael Bohórquez, Juan José Arreola, Pita Amor, Franco Hernández, José Esquinca y Miriam Moscona, among many others.

Crowning of the Queen of Carnival

Perhaps the most anxiously-awaited event of the city-harbor is the competition for the most beautiful among a stunningly beautiful class of competitors. The winner becomes the icon of the Carnival after a stringent competition in which grace, appearance, intelligence and beauty are a must in winning this coveted distinction.

Crowning of the Child Queen

The Crowning of the Child Queen takes place on Monday. Its origins are traced to 1921, the ritual since then repeated annually. The crowning of the Child Queen of the Carnival and the Child Queen of Poetry are augmented by the performances of nationally-known popular singers.

Pacific International Beauty Queen

The participation of the Queens from Central and South America and the United States adds an international flavor to the Carnival festivities. The visiting beauties participate in the spectacular Carnival parades, and also compete for the title of Pacific International Queen.

Children's Grand Ball

The Children's Grand Ball provides the children of the city-harbor a festive space especially designed for them. Escorted by their parents, the children engage in a test of their imaginative skills in the Funny Costume Contest, donning costumes of their own design in a high-spirited pageant of joyful competition.

Bad Mood Burning

A symbolic ritual accomplished by the incineration of a marionette, the Bad Mood Burning (or "Quema de Mal Humor") vanquishes all ill feelings from the Mazatlan shores.

Former Themes of Mazatlan Carnival

This year's theme is entitled, "The Return of the Muses." Previous themes were:

Name of the Queens of Carnival

Names of Queens of Floral Games

Names of Kings of  Jolly