A traditional and magical festival will take
place next June 29 in Mexcaltitan, a northern Riviera Nayarit fishing village, that
every year celebrates the island’s patron saints: San Pedro and San Pablo.
Teams representing the saints will engage in a
battle, and the winner will most likely St Peter, who is known as the cornerstone
of the Catholic Church. They may be a little too heavy at times, but they’re in
no way cheating. That's what the people say in Mexcaltitan, this town which
could be the mythical starting point for the pilgrimage of the Nahuatl tribes
in search of Tenochtitlan.
Since the arrival of the Spanish and evangelization,
this small island lost in wetlands has honored both apostles. And even if the
Huitchilopoztli God ever commanded its people to undertake a pilgrimage in
search of an eagle – or for more realistic effects and a more precise
interpretation made by the Boutorini Codex – a heron devouring a snake, now San
Pedro and San Pablo are the guides every year.
The festival is colorful and unique.
Shrimp-fishing characterizes this region, which is known as the ‘Venice of
Mexico’, and the Saints sail out very early, followed by a procession of
parishioners from around the island to bless the waters so that the traps
they’ve set get as close as possible to the three ton record per night that was
set in the past.
The mangroves create the shrimp’s habitat and
provide the material to build an elaborate levee system that have been used for
fishing since immemorial times, while a shorter-than-usual mass is celebrated.
This is followed by a battle, and the whole
town is split up in two teams, each one representing one of the two saints, who
compete on a race throughout the island, followed by a pagan celebration.
Each team will chose their best sailors for
the race, who will compete on board of enormous canoes carrying the image of
their respective saint. They’ll circle around Mexcaltitan, propelling the canoe
with sticks that are submerged to the bottom of the channels, just like they do
in the trajineras in Xochimilco, and
not with paddles like it’s done in the rest of the country. Every year, San
Pedro’s team will invariably win.
“No, we’re not cheating. It’s just that San
Pedro is even more miraculous and it’s better to commend fishing to him, as we
don’t want to annoy him. The strongest contenders are always placed in San
Pedro’s team, and this is why he always wins… but we’re not cheating, the
competition takes place like any other”, said Hector Apodaca, a guard
at the Museo del Origen, which was built on this island to celebrate its
designation as Cradle of Mexican culture.
The joy, cheering and festive environment that
surrounds the races is only the beginning of a party as traditional as any,
which includes dancing and eating, as well as fireworks during the night, but
more importantly, framed by a natural environment of incomparable beauty.
HOW TO
GET HERE
Mexcaltitan is located 21 miles northeast of Santiago
Ixcuintla, approximately 1 hour from San Blas and 2 from Tepic. From Santiago Ixcuintla you must take
the road towards Sentispac, and continue on towards the La Batanga pier, where
you’ll have to take a boat to the island.
LICK
YOUR FINGERS
Eating at Mexcaltitan is a whole new
experience. This is the place that gave birth to the original recipe of the
‘cockroach shrimp’, and in no other place can they be found as crunchy, the
ideal snack to go along with a beer. Fish in the zarandeado style, shrimp tamales, shrimp pate and aguachile from Nayarit complete the
feast.
HOW TO
GET HERE
It’s recommended to sleep in San Blas when
visiting Mexcaltitan, as the travel to and from the island can be made with ease.
In San Blas, one can find a room in comfortable hotels like Garza Canela,
Hacienda Flamingos and Casa Mañana, among others.
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