The Magic Lantern Carnival 2013 ................

The wheel has turned, Carnival is here again and Mazatlán is in a state of high excitement. 

"The twinkling strings of coloured fairy lights promising us soup and warm hearth flies or is it fires, triggering in us a response that takes us back to our privileged childhoods and a Mediterranean red roof-tiled roof over our smiling upturned glowing faces. Walking down the pre-carnival malecón bathed in the warm light from those multi coloured shining hardbinge drinkers we break out in good-hearted gales of laughter and hand over all our pesos in a spontaneous burst of charity to that bare-arsed lady of the street we see everyday sleeping in the most unexpected place and the other wheelchair lady demanding money outside Santander Bank who has had a weeping leg for the last 12 years. Oh those finely built alpine wooded soon-to-be overflowing 'bathrooms' that bring a wonderous glow to our ruddy cheeks ...........(my God Mather! Enough of this crap. Tone it down for christ's sake - the editor.)

2013 MazReal entertainment correspondent Mather 'Dudley' Mathers is there to bring it alive without the rose tinted memories of his happy childhood being bathed by his Shona servants in colonial Zimbamboo Africa. Salud to you too Mather! Keep it simple.

"Mathers reporting. MazReal CEO - El Duke of Zenda - last year sacked the disgraced 2012 entertainment contributor - Zeke Fandango - for suggesting that to add some life to the carnival the prospective queens should each be given a machete, place them in the Bull Ring surrounded by baying males and let them get on with a Battle Royale where the last standing or even kneeling bloodied woman would be crowned the Queen of the Royal Machete and equally give the Laughing Kings a flamethrower and send them into the hills wherein they may toast each other to a crisp in a Fire Royale and not bother to come back. 

These ideas caused a lot of offence as did the accompanying picture* (see it again below) of a hopeful smiling queen wielding a blood soaked weapon with the catchline - Muses With Machetes. 

Culturas as we now know never did reply to Zeke's emails with the suggestions because as we all know this year we are back with the normal stuff.

Our photographer has been out and about and brings you these shots of the the atmosphere of what promises to be a carnival likened to your grandmother birthday. We all dread its annual coming but put on a brave face nonetheless and wear the required bright colored fire hazardous wigs and large plastic spectacles and pretend we are having a fantastic time.


more wonderful carnival happenings after the break

Even Quicker Restaurant Review - Molika

I swung by Molika thrice in the last two weeks and had an Angus beef burger on one day and duck on the other two. 

The beefburger was so tasty I nearly went for seconds there and then and the duck with salad niçoise was so perfectly under cooked as it should be that I couldn't stop thinking about it so I returned and had another a few days later.  It is so easy to fuck up duck and over-cook it and then it becomes tough and a waste of time but Hector's was perfect.

©2013 Jacques Tati 

Quick Restaurant Review - El Presidio

If you want a fantastic meal of Mexican cuisine or just fine eating at a great price in Mazatlán this is the only place to go. El Presidio Restaurant and it's Chef Diego is on Niños Heroes in Centro. That street with Wing's Army and its deep fried frozen food and the expensive pizza joint La Mona also owned by Rodrigo who owns this place ( I was recently in New York and had a fantastic pizza there at half the price of La Mona's).

Now that El Presidio is up and running you can just walk straight passed all the other restaurants in town (maybe you will think twice when passing Molika where I would still choose if I wanted simply great tasting European food from its fantastic chef who took care of things at The Four Seasons in fancy London) without giving them a second glance and head up the road to this one. 

There is no sign out the door except just inside a nice guy with a menu and a secret agent radio earpiece and if you haven't booked in advance he will probably speak into his microphone, nod his head and send you on your way with a polite "Sorry. We're full up."

more fine food after the break