In the summer, Xela is a zoo. There are hundreds and hundreds of language students studying Spanish at one of the city’s many language schools. (Last time I tried to count, I could think of at least 22 schools.) In the summer, the bars are packed with extranjeros, business is good and there’s always new people to meet.
However, the summer can get a little crowded. When I got back to Xela in September, I noticed how fewer foreigners there were. It made me feel, as silly as this sounds, that I had the city much more to myself. Sure, there are still lots of foreigners around, but now it’s possible to go the nightclubs downtown and see more Guatemalan than pasty faces.
I bet a lot of people would say September is their favourite month. It’s feria time, after all: Quetzaltenango’s festival must be one of the biggest in the country. It goes on for more than a week and includes all the parades, live bands, fair rides, crowds and pickpockets that you could ask for.
I, however, like October the best (at least so far.) In September, the crowds can get to be a bit much and it’s almost impossible to get a view of any of the goings-on.
October, though, has just the right amount of fun.
Just when the streets have quieted down after September’s feria, another festival begins.
I remember walking down the street at the beginning of October, thinking “phew, feria is now over,” and then seeing another parade. “Is feria still going on?” I asked someone.
“Nope,” they said. “This is the festival of the “Virgen Rosario.”
Right, because it would be impossible for more than a week to go by in this country without another reason to party.
Anyways, the amount of crowds and fair fun in October is perfect. Every weekend, vendors set up a small labyrinth of stall around the cathedral in Parque Central, and this is the perfect place to wander around or hang out with friends on the weekend.
First and foremost is the food. Churros, those delicious fried tubes of dough either covered in sugar or filled with cream, are at the same time the best and most disgusting dessert in the world.
Then there’s cheap pizzes (three slices for $1.25), tortas mexicanas (gotta love a sandwhich whose primary ingredient is hot dogs and mayonnaise), pupusas, tacos and grilled corn.
There’s little sit-down restaurants where you can buy a steaming plate of chicken mole (a thick, chocolatey sauce) again for $1.25.
And drinks! Fruit punch (tequila or rum optional) and an even more delicious milky punch.
On the way home, you can pick up some homemade sweets.
Besides food, there are dozens of people selling everything from pottery to Jack the Pumpkin King merchandise. (Yeah, from The Nightmare Before Christmas – the movie may be old but it’s very fashionable among teenage boys here.)
Among your standard “get ripped off or win a stuff animal” carnival games, there is also a fooseball stand in the back.
Best of all, this little fair is only a five minute walk from my house.
This afternoon, I felt like I needed to get out of the house and clear my head. So I walked down to the fair. I bought myself a milk punch (sort of like a hot horchata) and wandered around for a bit. Then I went at sat on a bench in the park, and watched the world go by.
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