SOUND AND FURY

Making friends in San Miguel is easy.  But losing them is even easier.  All you need do is bring up the topic of fireworks.

Religion and politics are widely considered devisive issues. But endeavor to suggest that the frequent fireworks displays in our lovely colonial town are not only annoying but also dangerous and should be better controlled by the authorities, and you’re in for a fight. You might even be told to pack your bags and go back home.

That's exactly what a number of San Miguel residents proposed during a recent debate over the mostly unregulated discharge of fireworks here.   

In an article in Atencion, a local weekly bilingual tabloid costing 15 pesos ($1.15), these residents in effect argued that fireworks are as Mexican as tamales, and if you don't like 'em (lots of 'em), well then you'd better seriously consider moving north. Far north. 

Now, I know for a fact that Americans like a good fireworks display.  Who doesn’t enjoy a spectacular sound-and-light show on the Fourth of July? And what could be a more fitting conclusion to the big game than an impressive pyrotechnic demonstration? Oooo-aaaahhh. American as the "1812 Overture," right?

But to many natives, fireworks are more than a celebratory accompaniment—they’re a national rampage. And sometimes one gets the idea that they also may serve as an indirect expression of counter-gringo sentiment.

I'm not suggesting anything sinister here. Mexicans are welcoming hosts to us expats. But one other thing's for sure: Fireworks may just become a potential flashpoint in our mutually respectful relationship.

As an example, during one particular weekend in May one of the smaller chapels in town celebrated its patron saint's feast day. (Doesn't really matter which saint, there are more than enough to go around.) The aerial bombardment started on Friday evening and continued, virtually without pause, through Sunday evening. Windows were rocked and dogs took up permanent residence under beds. No one in our area slept for longer than two hours because of the continual blastings.

Certainly this was an extreme case.  However, nearly every holy day, funeral service, wedding, graduation ceremony, or coming-of-age observance in town ends with the detonation of fireworks--sometimes until two in the morning. The month of September promises unprecedented carpet bombing because of a perfect storm of Mexican Independence celebrations and numerous holy feast days in the Catholic Church.

This is fun for no one, except perhaps for the bombers themselves (impossible to identify), and makes many Americans and Canadians and even some Mexicans mighty cranky at Sunday morning service.

The issue is control. The vast majority of these fireworks displays are criminal. Meaning, they are against the law. They are renegade operations. Many of the fireworks are homemade and therefore extra-dangerous.The people who set them off are nonprofessionals, and too often suffer the consequences of their passion by the lose of fingers and eyes. It happens every year, but no one raises the issue of public safety. And the laws go unenforced for reasons that you can probably guess.

There is nothing pretty about our local fireworks, because they are all BOOM with none of the colorful pinwheel displays high in the nightsky that we find so awe inspiring in the U.S.

Please don't talk to me about Mexican tradition. Perhaps at one time fireworks were a quaint--what my wife drearily calls "folklorical"--expression of respectful glorification or exuberant celebration.

But those days are long gone, as every neighborhood in town vies to achieve the biggest--and longest-lasting--ear-splitting, earth-cracking bangs. And the rest of us have to hide our heads under pillows, or else leave town for the weekend.  Maybe the barrio kids love it. But from my perspective it's time for the grown-ups to take charge.



© 2014 Tony DeCrosta 
Contact me at adecrosta@gmail.com