Mexican Drag

finally, the vacation recap. with sequins and feathers!

So, you know, we had a great time with family in Acapulco.
We swam in the pool

We played at the water park at the resort (this is the slide where the May Queen got a huge bump on her head last time we were there, which we caught on video for posterity. Me screaming and everything, setting a fine example of model parenting)

We played on the beach, ate tons of Mexican food (cheese quesadillas for MQ, but only flour tortillas. She would not touch the ones made with corn tortillas that they served everywhere but the resort).

The three of us went snorkeling one day and it was SO cool. We went to this little island, and as we got off the boat we were met by Carlos, and it turns out it was our lucky day. I had planned to go by myself while the big guy played on the beach with the May Queen, but he outfitted her with snorkel and mask, put her in a life jacket, and had her hold onto a tube that one of us then always had a grip on. She could see everything, too! It rocked! Then Carlos, our own private tour guide, would swim down and bring things up for us to see up close, like sea cucumbers and urchins... and he even caught a puffer fish with his bare hands that we all got to hold before we released it. Unfortunately my disposable underwater camera cracked, and I doubt I'll be able to get any photos back because the film got wet. But here we are on the island.

However, I know the thing you're all REALLY wanting to hear about is how we accidentally ended up at a Mexican drag show.

Our cab driver ("I don't meet customers. I MAKE FRIENDS") who took us on our snorkeling adventure recommended several other places to us (that he would be happy to take us to, of course). One was a fancy restaurant, the other was a local restaurant with good, cheap food and authentic entertainment (he mentioned Mariachi), but he warned us it would all be in Spanish. A Mexican Fiesta, as we understood it. We consulted with the rest of the family (remember, we were there with all of The Big Guys' immediate family) and we decided to split into two groups: one to the restaurant, and one to the Fiesta. I sold The May Queen on the Fiesta idea by telling her how, during our last Acapulco trip when she was 16 months old, we took her to a Fiesta and she was entranced by the dancing girls with the big, colorful twirling skirts. She would gleefully clap along and all the people near us watched her instead of the show.

So...

We go, and when we arrive a band is playing (loud!) samba music, and people are dancing. We are seated with a young couple from Oregon, the only other gringos in the place, which is otherwise filled with local families. Kids are running around, dipping in and out of the pool that is off to the side of the covered eating area. We order our food and drinks. I go with the special, as recommended by our driver, and got an AMAZING soup, and some other unknown and not as tasty things.

The show begins innocently enough.

(We were celebrities, sitting right up front, and MQ's blond hair attracts all sorts of attention. This picture is terribly fuzzy though, sorry)

Then out come the dancing girls. But not in big, colorful skirts. Think Las Vegas feathers.

And then...

The first drag queen. I'm sure she was hysterical, not that we understood a word of it. Several little girls came and sat on the floor in front of us to watch, and scampered to catch any feathers that came loose.

Then another drag queen. Then the dancing girls came back one by one, dressed in skimpy outfits and lip syncing to Mexican pop tunes. Although now we're not entirely sure that they are actually GIRLS.

Then a couple comes out. The man, with the DRAWN ON mustache and beard, makes eye contact with me before they begin singing. (I sense that I'm in for treat). They begin lip syncing a song which is clearly the couple fighting about him cheating. Take a wild guess who they indicate as the other woman.

He keeps coming over to me and putting his arm around me, which is fine, and I play along, and get lots of laughs from the crowd. Then they start slapping each other. And pulling each other around by their hair. I whisper in the May Queen's ear that they are just pretending.

Then he proceeds to TAKE OFF HIS BELT. By now the woman is sitting in the chair, and he pretends to HIT HER WITH THE BELT (he is, of course, hitting the chair). I'm am in turns laughing hysterically and whispering messages about acting and make believe in the May Queen's ear, all the while trying to figure out what this is going to cost me in therapy for my child.

I think that was about the time when she asked where the girls in the big colorful skirts were.

Oh honey, Mommy was wrong. It's not that kind of show.

It was hysterical, and educational, and of course interesting to get off the touristy path and see how the locals really live. It was not at all what we expected, but afterwards I insisted that I was glad that I went (because really, it makes a good travel story, no?). However, every one of us that went there got hit with a stomach bug, so now I'm not so sure it was worth it. I mean, I've heard of Montezuma's revenge and everything, but I'm at 5 days here. That's some revenge.