Fairs

On a warm April morning as I strolled through the San Marcos Gardens in Aquascalientes, a vendor beckoned me to come over and have my fortune told by a supposedly clairvoyant canary. I had my doubts, but he assured me that my future was in the cards. It seemed the canary was to select a card from a deck of Tarot cards. As luck would have it, the bird foretold happiness. This was the only luck I was to have in the next few days, as I experienced the San Marcos National Fair, the fair of fairs, which consumes the industrial city of Aquascalientes, located at the very center of Mexico, from the second week of April to the first week of May each year. It's an occasion for superlatives-the oldest, most famous and largest fair in all of Mexico.

The action was fierce. A player came blazing by, setting up a shot for goal, a defender in hot pursuit. The soccer ball screamed toward the goal, only to be intercepted by......a palm tree.

What is a Humungus Fungus you ask? Several years ago a "humungus fungus" (a GIGANTIC mushroom) was discovered in the Crystal Falls area. It weighs roughly 11 tons and covers 37 acres.

The San Marcos Fair, held from the second week in April to the first week of May each year, attracts thousands of visitors from all over Mexico and the United States. It dates back to 1604 when a small indigenous Indian settlement, San Marcos, was founded within walking distance of the growing Spanish city of Aguascalientes.