Easter Sunday in Mexico--What goes on?

Among the church-attending Mexicans—a declining group—it seems to be just church. A special Easter meal—at least here in Mazatlán—isn't done. More likely, even among the churchgoers would be a day at the beach...after all, it's semana santa, and everyone in México tries to go to the beach during semana santa.

The beach ... the beach !!

Here in Melaque 2 days before the rush - there must be 10 traffic cops directing traffic, red flags on the beach, Mariachis are here, ambulances and police from all over Jalisco, buses from as far as Puebla and SLP.

Bring your gas stove, a tank of gas, a few plastic chairs ... and sent up a restaurant on the median. It will be all restaurant or street food here

Just going to Mass is what people do in Latin America and Spain. I mean, those who rarely go to church, will go to church on Easter Sunday. But Holy Week is more solemn than celebratory. The emphasis is on the suffering, betrayal and cruxifiction of Christ and most ceremonies center around these aspects. That is why Good Friday is such a big day. People abstain from certain foods or things, do penitence ect. Then comes Easter and it marks the end of Lent and Holy Week. That is the way it is for most people. Meaning they have to go back to work on Monday. I know of no special dinners or celebrations for Easter in Mexico or anywhere else in L.A or Spain. Things like eggs and bunnies are not typical of the culture. Nor are there Easter specific foods, unlike Xmas, Reyes Magos Jan. 6 or La Candelaria Feb. 2. Easter is for going to chrurch meet, friends and relax.

Just going to Mass is what people do in Latin America and Spain. I mean, those who rarely go to church, will go to church on Easter Sunday. But Holy Week is more solemn than celebratory. The emphasis is on the suffering, betrayal and cruxifiction of Christ and most ceremonies center around these aspects. That is why Good Friday is such a big day. People abstain from certain foods or things, do penitence ect. Then comes Easter and it marks the end of Lent and Holy Week. That is the way it is for most people. Meaning they have to go back to work on Monday. I know of no special dinners or celebrations for Easter in Mexico or anywhere else in L.A or Spain. Things like eggs and bunnies are not typical of the culture. Nor are there Easter specific foods, unlike Xmas, Reyes Magos Jan. 6 or La Candelaria Feb. 2. Easter is for going to church, meeting friends and relaxing.

everybody that can afford it takes a vacation & heads for the coastal cities to the beach..

Boca del Rio, Veracruz: In local news yesterday they mentioned hotels were already 95% full and expected to be 100% by the weekend..

Semana Santa is about vacation time in Mexico, from what I've seen/experienced - little about religious observations. Yes, Good Friday is quiet/religious, as is Sunday - but othere than that it's about having a good time away from school/work. According to government reports, only about 15% of the nation travels during Semana Santa . . . far fewer than some people would have you beleive. Though, if you're in the largest cities, such as Mexico City, it seems as if most have gone away; they're just hanging around home, mostly.

OP,

And then, of course, the next question is: "What do American, Canadian, and other expats do on Easter Sunday in Mexico?"

#1: I know what expats in Mazatlán do and where they eat.

OP: Will you be cooking that day? And, if so, would you care to share your menu with us?

#5: My wife and I just returned from a trip which included the Veracruz area. Semana Santa surely can't be as goofy/crowded as Carnaval. And, frankly, the more people who stay in Boca del Rio the better: That leaves more room for the rest of us to enjoy the interesting parts of the Veracruz area.

dl, #7, If you've never been to the beach in México during Semana Santa, you have no idea! Semana Santa is FAR goofier/crowded than Carnaval ever thought of being.

You know my bookstore. In normal times, it takes me between 8 and 10 minutes to get home (near Gigante). During the summer, when we have a lot of Mexican tourists who drive in, it takes me between 10 and 12 minutes. During Carnaval, as long as I detour around the Sunday parade route, it takes me 12 to 15 minutes. YESTERDAY evening, at about 7:30 pm, it took me over 45 minutes and it would have taken longer but I dug out my map and took a "cheater" route through the El Cid gated complex. I wouldn't have been able to do this except my car still has gringo plates. It might have taken me even longer if I had tried either of my normal routes. 9 Semana Santas back I dug out my map and discovered a "back" route, but in the ensuing years too many other folks have discovered it and last night the traffic was backed up almost a mile on this "back" route. That's when I dug out my map and figured out the "cheater" route through El Cid.

And this isn't just Mazatlán. 4 years ago my wife suggested we accept an invitation for Semana Santa from some friends of hers in Tecuala, Nayarit, about 100 miles south of Mazatlán, in order to escape the Semana Santa crowds in Mazatlán. Always game, I said, "Sure, why not?". Well, Tecuala is about 16 miles from the beach at the tiny beach town of Playas Novillero, which is touted as having very longest west coast beach on the North American continent. Normally, this is an area practically empty of tourists and a totally "wild" beach. BUT, for Semana Santa, there was one row of folks camped back against the coconut palms for the entire length of the beach, then another row in front of them for the whole length, then a one-track roadway packed into the sand for the whole length and yet another row of folks camped between the roadway and the high-tide mark. It was PACKED! When we finally left the beach, it took us over 2 hours to get the 16 miles back to where we were staying in Tecuala. So much for that good idea.

As I said before, "If you haven't experienced Semana Santa at a beach in México, you have NO IDEA!"

David, #8: My last comment (to #5) was meant to refer to Veracruz only, not all Mexican beach towns. Veracruz is known for having, arguably, the largest carnaval "festival"/orgy in Mexico; it just didn't seem possible that Veracruz could recover in time for another gigantic mess a couple of months later. I mean, the people would barely have had time to sober up, let alone plan for another party.

And I actually have had the unfortunate "pleasure" of being in Mexico a few times over the years during semana santa. I'm not religious and I invariably--when planning spring vacations--forget to check when Easter is so that I can avoid that week like the plague. (I think this is somewhat analogous to the situation in the US when people who don't follow/care for sports accidentally book a vacation trip for the weekend to the US city that is hosting the "final four" basketball madness.)

So, indeed, I sympathize with your annual plight. And I have sworn a vow that in the future I will always look at the damn calendar before setting up spring vacations in Mexico--or if I do plan a trip during that period it will be to destinations in the interior, not on the beach.