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Happy Cinco de Mayo!

mayo 4th, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

There are of course a bunch of Mexican patriotic holidays that come around every year.  But that’s caught on most outside Mexico is Cinco de Mayo – especially in the next-door United States, most notably out on the West Coast, but really, pretty much wherever there’s a taco/burrito/ chimichanga emporium (I mean, when you’ve reached Omaha…).  As with St. Patrick’s Day, for many CDM has had its origins obscured and become just another excuse for carousing, so I’d like to take a moment to remind everyone what in fact is behind this momentous occasion whose name is nothing more than the Spanish for “the fifth of May.”

When in 1861 the Mexican republic’s iconic president Benito Juárez declared a two-year stop-payment on debts to European creditors, the relevant countries actually sent warships to collect (yeah, it was a slightly different time). One of them, France under Napoleon III, decided to go one further by trying to set up a pro-French empire in Mexico. So the hotshot French army landed and took Veracruz but then, amazingly, got its cul kicked by a Mexican force just half its size near Puebla. This Mexican victory at the Battle of Puebla was naturally a big-time boost for the young country’s national unity and patriotism.

And though in 1864 France finally got its wish and installed Austrian Habsburg Archduke Maximilian as “emperor,” in spite of actually instituting some pretty humane reforms, just three years later Max ended up getting deposed and put in front of a firing squad, and good ol’ Benito was back in the saddle again.

Ironically, these days Cinco de Mayo festivities are actually more widespread in the States and elsewhere than in Mexico itself, where it’s most touted in and around Puebla and in some of the border areas and tourism centers (such as Cancun, the Riviera Maya, and Cozumel, where Iberostar has its Mexico resorts). But regardless, as a celebration of Mexican pride, bravery, and overcoming overwhelming odds, this one’s totally a keeper.

Photo | iStock/Kelly Richardson Photography

If you plan to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Mexico next year, you should stay at one of the  Iberostar Hotels!

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Carnaval, Dominican-Style!

febrero 27th, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)


It’s one of the most joyous (and exhausting) weeks of the year in various parts of the world, from Venice to Port of Spain and New Orleans to Rio de Janeiro.  But being as fond as I am of the Dominican Republic, I’ve got a soft spot for the pre-Lenten Carnaval celebrations down here – especially because unlike in many other places, here the party keeps poppin’ for a good part of the month of February in various towns and cities, culminating today, February 27th, which is also when the country celebrates its Independence Day. The biggest hoo-has are held in Santiago, La Vega, and Bonao in the center of the country, and of course in Santo Domingo, where the waterfront avenue, the Malecón, becomes transformed into a brightly colored sea of people watching and participating in the carnival processions.

There are all sorts of themes and historical allusions in these processions, especially those dating back to the colonial era, with conquistadores, slaves, and the like, plus dudes in drag (no, not drag queens, but rather traditional figures known in Spanish as as roba la gallina, “chicken robbers”, who supposedly conceal the stolen birds in their “hips” and “cleavage”), as well as all manner of fantastical animal characters.  Participants often march in organized groups called comparsas (think of the krewes in New Orleans’ Mardi Gras). A central figure is known as the diablo cojuelo (lame devil), more impish than evil, who appears in myriad versions of brightly colored costumes and outsized horns.  Often the wearers spend months creating their costumes and papier-mâché masks out of found objects and materials.

For those of you who might be vacationing out in one of the Punta Cana Iberostar resorts, the local carnaval happens in March instead of February – and this year it’s scheduled for Saturday, March 10. But wherever you witness it, Carnaval a la dominicana is certain to leave you buoyant and impressed with the creativity, resilience, and joyousness of the Dominican people.

Whether or not you make it to Carnaval in the Dominican Republic, your vacation with Iberostar resorts is sure to be a party. Which will you choose?

Photo | LuieRRe

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Party Knight and Day at the Cadiz Carnival

febrero 10th, 2012 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in The View - (0 Comments)

One of Spain's wildest annual festivals is Carnival when ten days of street partying hits the streets of Cadiz in February.

Knight and Day

It’s a high octane plot that doesn’t let reality or accuracy get in the way of telling its story. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, the stars of Knight and Day, are running for their lives across Europe and North America as a series of cops and criminals chase them and attempt to kill them for their troubles. Cruise plays a spy who is accused of being one of the bad guys while Diaz just happens to get in the way. As they dodge bullets from Boston to Spain they inevitably fall in love (I don’t think I’ve spoiled the plot there!).

From Bad to Worse

The making of Knight and Day was riddled with problems. Ten writers were involved at different points, with the plot changing out of all recognition by the time the movie was produced. The actors also weren’t the first choices of the casting team, with Eva Mendes and Chris Tucker initially lined up for the lead roles. Perhaps the financial backers wished they had stuck with their original choices given the poor box office performance of the movie when it finally came out.

Most movies have one or two mistakes or inaccuracies somewhere in the story, but Knight and Day has one of the most glaring errors in recent years. An important sequence in the movie takes place in a festival in Seville (in one of the scenes shot in Andalusia in southern Spain). Yet the movie shows the festival including the Running of the Bulls, a world-famous annual event that takes place not in Seville, but several hundred miles north in Pamplona as part of the festival of San Fermín. A minor detail, clearly….

Spanish Festivals

It’s a shame that they chose to “import” a festival to Andalusia for the movie, given the many well-known celebrations that really do take place in the region. Perhaps the most colorful is the Cadiz Carnival. Every year on Shrove Tuesday, Cadiz puts on a spectacular show to mark the last day before Lent, with floats, costumes and copious quantities of wine.

The festivities in Cadiz is counted by many among the world’s top pre-Lenten Carnivals, in a league with those in Rio de Janeiro, Trinidad, and New Orleans. Hotels in Cadiz book very quickly for the Carnival, so it’s wise to plan well in advance. If you’re in the mood to celebrate a real Spanish festival, this is one not to miss.

 

Photo |  DODO

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“Soaked” But Happy in Oaxaca’s Street Festival

agosto 30th, 2011 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

Oaxaca Mexico

The rain did not stop the crowds from invading the main streets of Oaxaca, México, as they danced to the rhythm of the orchestra with such joy you’d think their traditional cotton and straw costumes, typical of the town, weren’t getting soaked. Nothing was going to stop the giants, or the dances, or the wooden bulls packed with firecrackers that went off like fireworks in motion.

Nor did the tequila or mezcal stop flowing. Homemade bottles were opened and all were welcome. If you didn’t have a glass, they gave you one, and amidst the crowds, there was always someone who made sure it was full. Nothing could prevent you from participating in the happiness and smiles. Corn cakes were handed out and the Mexican music went on, until dawn said “enough.”

Street Party Capital of Mexico?

People say Oaxaca is constantly celebrating. It is. Every week there’s some excuse to have a festival, with people going out into the streets and sharing what little they have with everybody. Oaxaca de Juarez, the small capital city of the province of Oaxaca, is brimming with beautiful nooks and corners, but its true charm lies within its genuine, unassuming people who, no matter where you hail from, make you feel at home.

Photo | Ignacio Izquierdo

 

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The Feast of the Virgin of the Rock

agosto 10th, 2011 | Posted by Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

Feast of the Virgen de la Peña

Hundreds of hands hoisted the heavy altar from where the Virgin reigned over the crowd, serenaded by a chorus of hundreds of “Vivas!” It was a special occasion: Just as she had every year for more years than anyone present could count, the Virgin left her church for a stately procession that would take her to the summit of the Peña (“rock”), from where she blessed the town below. It’s part of the celebrations of the Feast of Puebla de Guzmán (about 38 miles from Huelva, Spain), which fill the streets with music, flamenco guitars, and tradition. With sword dances, drummers, and everyone dressed like flamenco dancers and gypsies, it’s an explosion of color against the whitewashed walls of Puebla, a sincere expression of joy of the people of this southwesternmost corner of the Iberian peninsula.

During these happy days, everything happens on horseback. Riding through town on countless steeds, everyone stops at bars and streetside stands to soothe parched throats with a cool rebujito cocktail that washes away inhibitions and brings out more than a few merry (if occasionally offkey) ditties along the way. It’s one big party, organized by the Mayordomos, where roses, cakes and dulce de cidra (a delicious dessert made from a type of squash) are handed out all around town. Even those of us who didn’t grow up with these centuries-old traditions fall prey to their power, dragged by the raw emotion of the moment to live and experience it with the residents of this ancient town.

Foto | Ignacio Izquierdo

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