This city is working up to a complete frenzy of expectation. Carnaval Mazatlán 2007 is just days away. Officially, it runs Feb.15-20, but there are so many pre-carnaval events on the schedule that carnaval season actually started before New Year’s and continues right up to the big major dates in mid-month. For those visitors who know nothing about carnaval (yes, it’s spelled with an A instead of an I, this being a Spanish-speaking country), it’s a festival with a century-old tradition here in Mazatlán. This carnaval should not be confused with the penny-ante carnivals that most folks from north of the border would envision. Carnaval Mazatlán is big, huge, enormous. It takes over the town. Even the schools and banks close. There is something for everyone: families, young singles, perpetual partygoers, placid elders. By long-standing custom, it has an artistic side, it has a literary side, it has a musical side, it has fantasy side, it is fiesta at its craziest, most delirious, at times most hysterical pace. And it all comes to fruition under this year’s theme “Sorcery in the Old Port.” Here are some things you may not know about Carnaval Mazatlán: THE ARTS: Since the beginning Carnaval has been a showcase for art, including the fantasy floats that roll along Avenida del Mar on Sunday and Tuesday (this year Feb. 18 & 20). There are three major arts competitions connected with Carnaval Mazatlán. Newest of these arts events is the awarding of the Antonio Lopez Saenz Prize for Painting, a title that Sinaloa plastic artists vie for. By contrast, the oldest is the Clemencia Isaura Prize for Poetry, a contest open to all of Mexico’s resident bards, whose winner receives a single fresh flower (and a cash award) from the Queen of the Flower Games in a pageant with a cultural bent on the Friday evening (this year Feb. 16). Of equal importance, the winner of the Mazatlán Prize for Literature is honored at the Angela Peralta Theater during an Evening of the Arts (Feb. 6) that this year is headlined by the internationally renowned Chilean soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domas. THE CANDIDATES: Despite a popular myth that only rich girls get to be Queen of Carnaval, the candidates are nominated and compete on a fairly equitable basis. In past years, sometimes “votes” have been bottle caps from one of the carnaval’s soft drink sponsors. Currently, “votes” are a peso apiece, and the girls have teams of cheerleaders (called porras) who dream up events to help raise the quota of 50,000 pesos. The money helps defray the expenses of carnaval. The final selection of the Queen of Carnaval Mazatlán and the first runner-up, who becomes Queen of the Flower Games, is in the hands of a panel of judges who are generally experts in the fields of beauty, modeling and fashion. No amount of money can change the opinion of the judges in an open voting system. As for the other royal offices, King of Joy and Child Queen, they’re based strictly on the amount of money raised. The King is a humorous figure sometimes called El Rey Feo (ugly king) and in recent years often has been a popular local singer or the vocalist with a musical group that has a good following. And parents can sign up their little girls for the children’s title during an open registration period some months in advance of carnaval. From then on, it’s a question of “vote” collecting. THE ENTERTAINMENT: Some people say that carnaval is just one

big rowdy street dance in Olas Altas. But it is so much more. The coronation pageants, held in the Teodoro Mariscal baseball stadium, are mammoth affairs in which the crowning of the royalty is merely a prelude to a spectacular show, usually with top talent as headliners. The stars may not be household names in the U.S. or Canada, but they are big in Latin America, and visitors from north of the border who attend these events soon discover why. Fernando de la Mora, for example, the headliner for the coronation of the Queen of the Flower Games (Feb. 16) has a voice that some think is as good as any of the three tenors. He’s coming from Mexico City to sing a classical and semiclassical repertory with the accompaniment of the Sinaloa Symphony Orchestra. Star of the show for the crowning of Queen of Carnaval (Feb. 17) is a Venezuelan heartthrob named Ricardo Montaner whose romantic ballads are heard on every Mazatlán radio. Sin Bandera, a duo wildly popular with the bubblegum set, will croon to the freshly crowned Child Queen at her coronation pageant (Feb. 19) On the date carnaval officially opens, Feb. 15, the King of Joy will be crowned in a free street show at the Fisherman’s Monument. And, of course, there is the always a stunning fireworks show called the Combate Naval, a display recalling the Battle of Mazatlán against the French in 1864. THE PARADES: The first one this carnaval season was a street procession, held on Dec. 15, with people joining in to march through the byways of Old Mazatlán to the tune of a lively banda tambora and the rhythm of a mule-drawn beer wagon. This made a rather modest precursor for the real carnaval parades that march down Avenida del Mar every year. Taking part are dozens of fantastic floats, costumed marchers, carnaval royalty, various bands. And this year, by surprise, even the Catholic church is running a float, for the new bishop sees the carnaval parade as a family activity (unlike his predecessor, who decried the whole thing as “saturnalia.”) The parade marches twice, on Carnaval Sunday and again on Tuesday (Feb. 18, 20), with the first one starting at Fisherman’s Monument and heading north to Valentino’s and the second beginning from the Aquarium and heading south along Avenida del Mar to Olas Altas. THE FIREWORKS: In addition to the always awesome Saturday night Combate Naval fireworks display commemorating the victory of Mazatlán over the French invaders in 1864 (10:30pm Feb. 17), yet another pyrotechnical extravaganza has been added to this year’s schedule. “Fantasy in the Old Port,” an extra fireworks show, is slated for 9:00pm Monday, Feb. 19, on Avenida del Mar. THE PARTICIPANTS: Most importantly, you! Everybody gets in on carnaval — the families who head for the parades, the young adults who boogie it up at the mile-long street dance at Olas Altas, the show goers who attend the pageants and performances, and of course the costumed figures, royalty and commoners alike, who take part in some of these formal events. Many of them are free. People who want to attend those that require tickets can get them at the Angela Peralta Theater (box office phone: 982-4446/7, ext. 101; Lili, who works mornings, speaks English) or at a booth in the Gran Plaza shopping center. Either way, you can look at an electronic chart of unsold seats and pick the location you like. Carnaval is an unforgettable Mazatlan experience. See you there!