Flyin' Tamales

I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.

Well, sorta.... I went to the tamaliza, the distribution of free tamales, in celebration of candelaria.  They had 30,000 to pass out to the crowds in front of the cathedral.  I mentioned in yesterday's post that there were blockades on the streets surrounding the zocalo and some of the protesters were responsible for what transpired. There were police everywhere.

 

I spoke to one officer and asked him what was up, but he demurred and said they were there for the tamaliza.  In full riot gear?

Apparently, there was another group that wanted to give out tamales, but did not have the right permits.  I am sure there is much more to the story.  Here are a couple of articles from the morning papers.  When it comes to local politics, I know almost nothing.

However, it was an exciting time when the group tried to bring their baskets of tamales onto the Almeda to the tables that had been set up.  The police blocked their entrance. 

There was lots of shouting and finger pointing.  Eventually, one of the baskets got overturned and then the tamales started getting thrown. 

Food fight!

More shoving and fingerpointing,

but then the group set up a table in front of the police line and began distributing the tamales. 

At the same time, the "official" tamaliza proceeded without incident.

Plenty for everyone.

 The aftermath

Throughout random craziness, some people can look and stay cool.

 Me, too.  I stayed cool.  The dude abides.