May 26th 2007: Carnaval (Mission District, SF)

At some point, I found a tent filled with folding chairs on which sat drums. The first time I saw this tent, it had a few people drumming and I didn't pay it much heed. The second time, however, it was filled, and the drummers, all volunteer, played in sync. I took one movie during each visit. In the latter visit, people wandered in and out of the tent. The ringleader did his best to encourage the crowd and set the pace and mood. (He even wandered away at one point; clearly his presence wasn't that necessary.) My conclusion: cool and random.

Another movie is of the Blue Bone Express, a big band style jazz troupe. I greatly enjoyed them. The recording I made is at a low resolution so I could let the camera run longer and capture more sound. The band's web site has some better quality audio and video recordings.

During part of the time I watched the band, a dance troupe, Hot Pink Feathers, performed. Since I didn't capture them on video (and in fact couldn't see them that well through the crowd), you'll have to take my word for it that they are aptly named, wearing skimpy hot pink outfits and burlesquely dancing samba.

A fourth video is of some groovy drummers on a street corner. I couldn't determine if they were officially part of the festival or not. I doubt it. They kept starting and stopping as friends or random friendly people wandered by, people who sometimes joined them or replaced them.

The final video is of the group Talking Wood. They play African-inspired music and use instruments one doesn't often see on stage (like the xylophone). They sounded better in person than they do in this recording.

There are movies associated with this collection.

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Click on images below to enlarge:
Carnaval
One fenced-off area for alcohol looked really unwelcoming. By the time I walked by a few hours later, they'd redesigned it and enough people were there that it looked fairly friendly. I didn't take a photograph of the better incarnation.	One of many hand washing stations scattered around the festival. If you've been paying attention, you know how many festivals I attend. Why is this the first festival I've seen that has them? They're very handy...	A mural painted in honor of Carnaval 1994. The next picture is a better shot of the mural on the left wall.	View full-sized. A panorama of the amazingly long mural on Harrison Street. It took a lot of patience to wait for breaks in the crowd to get clean pictures of the various pieces needed to stitch together the panorama.
A tent filled with chairs and drums. See the description at the top of the index page for links to the associated movies.	The Morenada dancers from Bolivia had wild, elaborate costumes.
The Food Scene
Crepes on a stick?! Chocolate fondue sticks?! View full size to see the details of the menu. I watched how these items were made: they have a special, thin waffle iron into which they put the ingredients and a long stick. In fact, it looks easier than making ordinary crepes.	The Salvadorian stand from which I got my lunch.	A pork-and-cheese papusa, a cheese-and-beans papusa, some fried plantains, a little `slaw, and some red salsa.	Festivals always have many booths selling deep-fried food. Yet, I think this is the first time I've seen deep-fried twinkies offered. Also, I'm not sure what I think of frozen cheesecake dipped in chocolate.
My, that's a lot of meat.	And that's a lot of corn.	The skewer of chicken I brought from the booth with the previously photographed huge grill. It's even larger than it looks because some meat is hidden under the aluminum foil.
Fodder for Panorama of Harrison Street Mural