User:Thelmadatter/Carnival of Chimalhuacan

The Carnival of Chimalhuacan is one of the longest carnivals in the world, since it last for almost a month before Easter. carnivals in mexico The carnival takes place in the Chimalhuacan municipality in the state of Estate of México.

History
The Chimalhuacan carnival is one of the oldest carnivals in Mexico. This carnival has its origins in Europe from which Maximiliano of Habsburg and his wife Carlota brought it to Mexico. It started as a ball, where all important people where invited, but the citizens as a protest, for the abuse of power, resumed all the things that Maximiliano's guests do. The traditional mask has the appearance of a frenchmen. The citizens want to pretend to be one of the people in the higher class, making fun of the people who where in charge at that time. During the celebration, couples dance as a certain way. For the man is easy to move, because the costume is loose, while for the woman is complicated, because the costume is tight. The dance was like that because women in higher positions used to wear eccentric dresses which were so uncomfortable that they were not able to move at all. All of this remain since then, because the main objective of the carnival has been to stand out the things they consider ridiculous at that time.

Festival
There are three stages in the carnival. The first one the "convite", which takes place in the morning hours. During this stage people give presents between each other. The second is the "calenda" which takes place at night. People here drink and set off fireworks. The third one is the "guelaguetza", when people dance. The most popular dance is the "huehuenches", which means "the dance of the old people. The Chimalhuacan carnival is also known as "Carnival without borders".The main objective of this is preserve the Mexican culture. The carnival has never been cancelled as there is a fear that might end it completely. The reason for that is that Chimalhuacan has problems with crime and poverty. During the carnival citizens carry popular musicians and walk around all the villages of Chimalhuacan.

Costume
The charro costume, which is a tradicional costume in Mexico, is made for the festival is embroidery with gold or silver threads. The price of the costume depends in how much decoration does it has,like sparkle, brightnes and the cloth the costume is made. The costume is really pricey. The costume is consider craftwork by the people there, since its production is tough. The costume is made with gold and sequins. The techniques for the manufacturing are a legacy and are only known by many families that are involved in costume production. One example are the Valverde's which is the most popular family in Chimalhuacan.