Christmas Eve in Mazatlan is a spectacular event celebrated with joy and gusto and quite a bit of noise. If you like a quiet, spiritual Christmas Eve, or if you want to sleep, don't come here. If you want to be a part of an epic celebration with people who know how to have a good time, Mazatlan is the place to be.

Chuck and I were tired after an 11 day visit with his parents. We had a great time, and were very sorry to see them leave, but 11 days with house guests is just exhausting. We dropped them off at the airport in the afternoon and returned home for a nap. The nap turned out to be quite brief.

The city had been more lively than usual all day long, but around 4 pm, they kicked it up a notch. People walked the streets greeting neighbors, visiting animatedly, and having a good time as they went about last minute preparations for the evening to come.

As soon as the sun went down, around 6 o'clock, the battle of the bands started. There was competing live music coming from several bands up and down the hill. In the cacophony, it was hard to pick and follow one single song. Our neighbors soon solved that problem for us by turning on their stereo at full volume, and they have quite competent speakers.

Around 7 o'clock, Chuck and I decided to go to our favorite food cart in search of dinner. There wasn't much food in the house, and Chuck had a craving for a Papa Loca. We got into the truck and drove to their normal location, but they were not out. We decided good for them - they deserved Christmas Eve off - and headed for our second favorite food cart. We drove through desolate streets. Not a soul to be found, not a store open, and of course, no food cart.

As a last ditch hope, we headed to Serdan, a street that passes the main shopping district, to see if anything was open. I turned the corner and was confronted with absolute bedlam. The roads were blocked off for blocks around the central mercado. The area was packed with hoards of last minute shoppers and revelers teeming in the streets. Christmas music of every sort blared from store sound systems while the entire Mazatlan police force struggled to keep order and direct traffic. There were food carts galore doing a booming business, but I wasn't feeling that brave. Besides, it was cold, and I had planned on just doing a quick drive by for food at our favorite cart, so I hadn't bothered to change out of my bedroom slippers before we left the house. Whoops.

Back at home, we dined on tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Not a Papa Loca, but it hit the spot. Then we thought that we would watch a little TV. Hah. Not a chance. But TV is over rated anyway. The fireworks started around 8:30. We could hear the pops, whistles and explosions as the shows started. We could see 4 competing fireworks displays from our terrace. The sky lit up in a multicolored festival of light that lasted for quite awhile.

Around 10 o'clock, the singing started. Not Christmas carols. Traditional Mexican party favorites. On key, off key, nobody cared. Just happy voices singing at full volume creating a special camaraderie in each celebrating group. Our normally quiet street became a choral home base, calling out to other souls to join in and make merry.

Things got relatively quiet around 11:30. We thought everyone was either going to sleep to await the arrival of Santa or preparing for midnight mass. Nope. Midnight is gift opening time. At 12:10, all the kids hit the streets with new soccer balls, footballs, remote control cars, and all forms of imaginable noise making toys.

At 1 o'clock, things got briefly quiet again. Not as gullible as we were at midnight, we didn't think everyone was going to bed. We waited to find out what was going to happen next. Then we heard THWACK! THWACK! followed by more singing, then more THWACK! THWACK! It wan piñata time. The piñata burst open, spilling candy and toys everywhere. The adults cheered, and the kids all hit the ground in a grabbing crab-crawl, trying to claim as much treasure for themselves as possible.

Finally at 2:30, we fell into bed and slept relatively soundly. We awoke at 7:00 to absolute silence. I can't wait to find out what Christmas Day brings.