One of Mazatlan's oldest and most revered institutions -- Carnaval -- has entered the new millennium and crossed its own century mark in better shape than ever before. Third largest pre-Lenten celebration in the world, ranking right after Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans in size and scope, Carnaval (to use the Spanish spelling) Mazatlan in its 2001 edition comes up Feb. 22-27. But Codetur, the municipal carnival committee, has already prepared a schedule of events that aims to rev up lots of enthusiasm ahead of time. Pre-carnival events will begin Nov. 3 with the presentation of the candidates for queen, child queen, and king of joy. Each of the candidates must help defray the expenses of carnival by selling a fixed number of raffle tickets on a new car in order to qualify for the final judging. This will occur on Feb. 10 during a spectacular show at the city's historic Angela Peralta Theater. All over town there will be rallies as the candidates and their followers campaign for votes (computed by the number of raffle tickets sold). At times all the candidates will parade through Mazatlan as well as other towns of southern Sinaloa. Theme for the next Carnaval is

"Let the Music Play," according to Raul Rico, president of Codetur, who says the motif will encompass music through the ages. This allows lots of leeway in the design of some 32 parade floats as well as the staging of mammoth outdoor pageants which are standard features of every Mazatlan carnival. Pre-carnival anticipation also flows through the creative realm, with the call to Mexico's artists, writers and poets to compete for recognition in the arts world, as well as substantial cash prizes, to be awarded during Carnaval events. The recently added competition of schoolchildren in the creation of maquetas (tabletop mini-scenes with carnival themes) brings to even the youngest Mazatlecos an awareness of their city's traditions of carnival. The roots of carnival go deep in Mazatlan. Local history traces its beginnings as far back as 1838, although its modern form, with parades and pageants, spectaculars and street dances, began 60 years later, in 1898. Today such embellishments as food festivals and fireworks have been added to the all-around celebration of life before the faithful turn to the ashes and the penance of Lent as observed in Roman Catholic countries throughout the world.