Semana Santa is almost over and the residents of San Carlos are getting ready to give a big sigh of relief. Semana Santa is the spring break for students and families from Hermosillo and Obregon. The influx of people starts as early as Monday, but Semana Santa does not really begin until around 2:00 on Thursday.
There is only one road leading into and out of San Carlos and when 150,000 people invade this small town traffic does not move. The hotels and condos are rented out early and for an extremely inflated price.
There are two distinct crowds in San Carlos during Semana Santa - the hard partying students and the families who bring their children for a weekend on the beach. It is the students who party until the wee hours of the morning and who cruise in their cars, although in reality there is no place to go. The police block off all turn-arounds so the traffic moves from one end of San Carlos, turns around and comes back. This little ceremony goes on from around 3:00pm until 2:00 in the morning Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The beaches are jammed with families camping in make shift tents, staying in cars and some even camping out in the open. Fred and I went for walks on the beach and never once did we feel unsafe or uncomfortable. The people are here to have fun and get a break from their everyday routine.
Because most of the activity [eating, beer sales and banos] takes place on the beach or on the frontage road, many restaurants and shops close down for Semana Santa. Those who do stay open hire special security to keep people away from their private banos. Taco stands, hot dog stands and beer stands seemed to grow up over night and they are placed anywhere there is an open space. No business licence needed here!
We found Semana Santa in San Carlos fascinating and extremely interesting. Vandalism is almost unheard of and the only downfall is the garbage trail we spotted on our morning run. It will take the town two or three days to clean this mess up, but the beers stands will be gone by 5:00 tonight.
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