Traditional Food and Drink of Mexican Semana Santa 

                                              Tara A. Spears

Spring is always a happy time but coastal Mexico takes celebrating the season to another level. The two-week semana santa and pascua is a national holiday that provides vacation time for families to hit the beach. As the Mexican middle class grows, more families are able to enjoy the beauty of the ocean. The area goes into party mode: exuberant children and adults fill the beaches to bursting, crowds dance along the clogged streets to strolling musicians and celebrate with fireworks, traditional foods, and lots of beer! No one can out do the Mexicans for enjoying life with impromptu fiestas for fun-in-the-sun.

Many first timers to the area wonder if there are planned community activities such as parades. Nope. The essence of the holiday is family and friends doing their own thing-mostly chillin’ at the beach, grilling at home, and drinking. The best way to deal with this two- week fiesta is to join in the fun. Relax and people watch. If you prefer quiet, this happening is not for you. The calliope of multiple strolling bands day and night, excited children shrieking, and general crowd energy continues 24/7.

With every hotel and bungalow overbooked for the two weeks of Easter/Semana Santa, the hordes of out-of-towners will naturally be utilizing the area stores and restaurants, so expect to wait in lines.  Grocery stores have staples fly off the shelves as quickly as items are stocked; tour buses stake out parking places throughout the residential areas; and all other types of shops have brisk souvenir and hat sales making it a good idea to shop early to avoid long lines.

In anticipation of the thirsty crowds, the local beer distributers have been working overtime to have enough beverage ready to go. It is typical for the stores to run out of regular size beer by Easter offering only ‘chico’ or liter size. Stacks of beer line the entrance to the stores, and the bars set up street carts to offer miceladas (beer cocktails) and pina coladas in giant Styrofoam cups for the tourists. Mexican munchies such as shrimp on a stick, ice cream, fresh fruits, and tacos are sold by strolling vendors all along the beach. To help keep the children occupied, a wide variety of beach toys are available from other vendors in colorful carts. The frosting on the cake of a memorable beach day is the lively sounds of mariachi bands that have parents dancing in the sand.

According to local restaurants, here are the top beverages enjoyed on the beach during semana santa:

    Mexican Michelada; Clamato Michelada Jaltemba Bay Style; Mexican Bulldog Beer Cocktail.

 Although each family has its own preferences, there are certain dishes that typically appear for Easter gatherings.  A staple of many Mexican vacation meals is a variety of shrimp: grilled on the barbeque, cerviche on tostados, deep fried, or sautéed in butter. Molotes (a meat/potato turnover) are made with a disk of fresh masa then usually filled with a chorizo and potato filling, fried, then topped with salsa, crema, queso fresco, and garnished with sliced radishes, is a common side dish for the seafood.                     

According to Yvette Marquesz, originally from central Mexico, the following menu is a traditional family meal served on Easter Sunday:  Red Chile Chicken Chilaquiles paired with pitchers of aguas frescas (fruit drinks;) refried beans; chorizo or bisteck.  The meal is finished with Biscochos (a type of cookie) or palatas (frozen treats) for the children.

 

After experiencing a JB semana santa, you will be able to conjure up the sights and sounds of Mexico any time you a sip a frosty michelada. What elevates semana santa from the NOTB spring break is that ii is families celebrating together rather than young people cutting loose away from parents. Families come from cooler high elevations and the interior to celebrate the changing of seasons and to make memories.