INTERNACIONAL
Beach bands in Mexico are allowed to continue playing music after complaints threatened to end the noise
Bands who play the thumping tuba-and-drums songs of northern Mexico on beaches in the resort city of Mazatlan appear to have emerged victorious this week after noise complaints had threatened to silence them.
But anybody who planned to witness the April 8 eclipse in a moment of awed silence will likely be disappointed. Mazatlan, on the Pacific coast, will be first place in North America where the path of totality will be visible.
Because of complaints from foreign tourists who like to observe the resort’s sunsets in peace — or with a bit of soft music — a local hotel owner had suggested limiting the time or places where the bands could play. The bands usually wander the beaches, asking for a few dollars per song to play.
US WARNING ON MEXICO SPRING BREAK TRAVEL, TOP THREATS FACING AMERICANS
Their music is hardly conducive to reflection or relaxation — think of a frantic, speed-fueled polka with lots and lots of brass and snare drums, earning the bands the nickname of tamboras, or drums.
Beach bands in Mexico can continue playing cultural music after noise complaints are dismissed by local police. (RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
But after a protest march by the musicians turned into a violent scuffle with police last week, efforts to limit them appear to have been abandoned.
«The people are very conscious now, and they are defending their rights,» President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday. «This is how they make a living, and besides, this is a long-standing tradition … and for that reason they protested and managed to get it reversed.»
«What isn’t good is the violence,» López Obrador said. «But the Sinaloa bands, or the musicians of the Sinaloa bands, are completely within their rights to protest, just no violence.»
While there never appears to have been any city-wide ban, at least one hotel had put up signs prohibiting the bands from offering their services to beachgoers.
Videos of the scuffles between musicians and police went viral last week, with some band members hitting police with drum sticks. Drums were turned into weapons.
Rubén Rocha, the governor of the northern state of Sinaloa, where Mazatlan is located, wrote in his social media accounts Thursday that «I do not share the idea of prohibiting the musicians of Mazatlan from carrying out their honest dignified work, that allows them to feed their families.»
The issue came to a head when local hotel operator Ernesto Coppel posted a video urging that the bands be limited as to when or where they could offer to play.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
«They are a disaster on the beaches of Mazatlan. They don’t allow people to rest,» Coppel said. «I have a lot of complaints from hundreds of American tourists who say to me ‘I won’t return to Mazatlan because of the noise.’»
The ideas apparently included designating certain spaces on the beach for musicians, rather than having them wandering up and down the sand, playing to people in beach chairs in front of hotels.
Sinaloa, which is home to the drug cartel of the same name, is not exactly known for restraint. An unusually high number of exotic animals like lions and tigers have been seized there, ornate mansion are the norm, and the main tourist attraction in the state capital is a graveyard featuring the lavish tombs of drug traffickers.
INTERNACIONAL
Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more
Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.
The island proudly proclaims itself as having the «longest holiday season in the world,» according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.
On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.
The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)
HOW TO SAY ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ IN 10 LANGUAGES TO FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD
The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.
One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.
In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.
Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.
17 SECRET TRAVEL TIPS FOR FALL AND WINTER THAT AREN’T SO SECRET AFTER ALL
Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.
In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.
Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
CHRISTMAS TREES IN GERMANY WERE DECORATED WITH APPLES INSTEAD OF ORNAMENTS IN THE 1600S FOR ‘ADAM AND EVE DAY’
A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.
The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.
In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.
Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REVEAL THE SURPRISING DAY TO TRAVEL AHEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH
After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.
Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that «commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,» according to Discover Puerto Rico.
On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.
For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.
The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.
This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.
Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more
En “el San Isidro de zona sur”. Pequeños cafés, bares y restaurantes dan forma a un circuito con aires de barrio
Sugestiva visita a la Rosada, los insultos top de Javier Milei y Mauricio Macri candidato
Cocaína en sudamericana en Francia: cada vez más «mulas» atrapadas en el principal aeropuerto de París
Jimena Monteverde sorprendió a Juana Viale y la dejó con la boca abierta: «Habló en tres idiomas»
Insólito error en la Lotería de Navidad: una niña cantó el Gordo por confusión y paralizó a la audiencia
Luis Petri apuntó contra el silencio del kirchnerismo por la detención ilegal del gendarme argentino en Venezuela
Un avión privado que venía de Punta del Este se despistó y chocó en el aeropuerto de San Fernando: murieron los dos pilotos
Patricia Bullrich le respondió a Victoria Villarruel tras las críticas por el gendarme detenido en Venezuela
Patricia Bullrich anunció el regreso del Servicio Cívico para jóvenes que no trabajan ni estudian
La Libertad Avanza evalúa presentar un proyecto para eliminar la ley de aborto legal
El descargo de Longobardi tras su salida de Radio Rivadavia: «Me hizo acordar cuando Cristina ejecutó mi despido en Radio 10»
Tragedia en Brasil: una avioneta se estrelló en una zona comercial y dejó un saldo de 10 muertos
El hecho ocurrió en la ciudad turística de Gramado, en el estado de Rio Grande do Sul.
Transformación o helicóptero: Patricia Bullrich quiere que el PRO se fusione a La Libertad Avanza
La ministra de Seguridad tradujo el "juntos o separados" expresado por Javier Milei en torno a una alianza con el...
Tras el campeonato de Estudiantes: así quedó la tabla de títulos del fútbol argentino
Tras la goleada del Pincha en Santiago del Estero, se actualizó la tabla de campeones en el fútbol argentino
-
POLITICA2 días agoEl descargo de Longobardi tras su salida de Radio Rivadavia: «Me hizo acordar cuando Cristina ejecutó mi despido en Radio 10»
-
INTERNACIONAL2 días ago
Atropello múltiple en un mercado de Navidad en Alemania: al menos dos muertos y más de 60 heridos
-
POLITICA2 días ago
Guillermo Castello: «Kicillof está utilizando la caja de la provincia para posicionarse políticamente»
-
POLITICA23 horas ago
Nisman: el Gobierno acepta el pedido del fiscal y levanta el secreto sobre los espías inorgánicos de la SIDE y el Ejército
-
CHIMENTOS1 día ago
Se confirmó el escandaloso motivo de la crisis entre Javier Milei y Yuyito González: «Él estaba cerca de Graciela Alfano»
-
POLITICA5 horas ago
El Gobierno reveló los pasos para salir del cepo cambiario y alcanzar la “flotación limpia”: cuáles son
