Listening to live music and eating gringas

Sunday we volunteered at the 3rd Annual Taste of Lo de Marcos. It was a kermes, which is a neighbourhood party to raise funds. A portion of the sales was divided between two organizations, both of which work on projects in the town and help the local people. There were various food and drink vendors, with all purchases done using Monopoly money. I was on cash, selling the funny money, and Greg was Señor Basura ... Mr. Garbage! He was also very social, making sure to chat with lots of people.

I ate late, but was fortunate enough to have one of the last gringas from this man. When finished, it's similar to a quesadilla. A gringa is a female who's not Latino, and most often is American or Canadian. When I asked why it was called that, he said for all the years he'd been cooking, mainly in Puerto Vallarta hotels, it had always been called that but he didn't know why. He said perhaps it was because they were so nice. Smooth!

Here's the meat that's included. This spit reminded me of the ones used to make many Mediterranean dishes in Canada, and in particular for gyros. Along with the chopped meat in the gringa, there was cheese, fresh pineapple, and some other ingredients. It was delicious.

There were also two performances of live music: one in French, and the other in Spanish. The Spanish group also did some traditional Mexican dancing. It was really enjoyable.

This is the main plaza, where many local events are held. Every Wednesday evening this plaza is filled with food and drink vendors, along with various jewellery, clothing and crafts for sale.

Our man with the gringas was there, so that was our supper last night. It was Greg's first taste of one, and he enjoyed it.

There are also large inflatables for the children to play on. It's a lovely family event that's held every Wednesday, at least during the time we've been here. We think it's supported by funding from such events as last Sunday's kermes, but we're not sure.

There was a 15-piece band that played traditional Mexican music, and we really enjoyed them. Lots of people, young and old, danced and enjoyed themselves. Walking around, we heard Spanish, English, and French spoken. 

The Mexicans make it a family event, with children of all ages out spending time with their parents and grandparents. There were also some young couples out on dates and holding hands.

We are grateful to whoever funds this Wednesday evening event as it's a nice way to spend an hour or two in the evening. We're also grateful the Mexicans here are all so warm and welcoming to the visitors.

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Location: Lo de Marcos, Nayarit, Mexico

Weather: High  77ºF (25ºC), low 71ºF (22ºC)

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