This past Sunday, May 8th, was the final day of the Volcano Festival. Unfortunately, I did not attend because of a day-long migraine headache. However, on Saturday I attended the full day and only left around 10:30 pm, before the DJ came on at 11 pm.
The first activity of the day was a motorcycle stunt show in the Zentralia mall parking lot, which entailed taking two buses, the first one leaving Cofradía at 7am. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the bus, and when I woke up, recognized that the stores we were passing were past my stop. So I got off at the next stop, crossed the street, went back to the proper stop, and then caught the bus to Zentralia.
The show was supposed to start at 9am, but the guys setting it up told me it would start at 9:30, so I went inside and had some breakfast, going back to the parking lot just before 9:30am. They were still setting up, and almost no spectators were there, so I figured they must be running on Mexican time, and sat down and waited. The show finally started around 10:30am.
There was one motorcycle stunt driver practicing his jumps,and directing how far apart the ramps should be. At one point, there were several motorcycles and a 4-wheel vehicle placed between the ramps, and next thing I knew, they went over to a bunch of kids and brought them over to sit on the motorcycles, after which the stunt driver rode up the ramp, over their heads, and back down on the second ramp! – something I cannot imagine them allowing back home. Finally he drove his motorcycle up the ramp and through a hoop of fire.
After the show was over, I took a taxi to the center of Colima, where the festival was taking place later that day. The first acts did not start until around 5:30pm, with one musical group following another. I also took a walk down several streets, as the entire venue of the festival is several blocks long.
On one of the blocked-off streets they had elevated boards set up in the middle of the street. Here were performances from local dancing schools, and I was very impressed with one little girl. She and her partner had just finished one dance, and the crowd was shouting for them to do another dance. Her eyes got big, and she was shaking her head, obviously nervous and not wanting to dance again. However, I guess her instructor insisted, the music started playing, and she suddenly had a big smile on her face and they danced again for the crowd. The smile never left her face, and she was as professional as any adult I had ever seen. I am including a full video of that second dance.
In the evening was a performance by the Ballet Folklorico of Colombia, an amazing performance that started with dancing and costumes from the pre-Columbian era and progressing through the centuries. I did not have a front-row seat for this, and so had to take a picture from one of the giant screens they had around the jardín.
After the performance, I headed to my friends’ house in Colima. It was a long day, and rather than going all the way back to Cofradía, they had offered to let me stay there in their house. That was very nice and greatly appreciated, but I had not counted on the heat. The climate of Colima is MUCH hotter than Cofradía, and even with two fans blowing on me, it was incredibly hot, making me realize that buying a house in Cofradía, rather than Colima, had been the right thing to do. And so, with the migraine, I stayed inside for most of the day and then took a taxi back to Cofradía. And while I missed the final day, I still had three full days at the Festival, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
So, please enjoy the photographs and videos. ¡Hasta luego!
mex-pat.org 
The boy and girl dancing were delightful–and it seemed the crowd thought so as well.
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In your blog post you said “buying a house in Cofradía, rather than Colima, had been the right thing to do.” Did you actually buy a house? If so, could you describe it in an upcoming blog post, together with some photos? Thanks.
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