Damn. We forgot.
Next weekend Carnaval decends upon our Inner Mission San Francisco neighborhood. This is a total-nightmare-of-a-street-fair that causes about 12 blocks on our street to shut down for two days. We live smack in the middle of those 12 blocks. This means no getting in and out of our garage with one car, and nearly impossible to find street parking for our other car. We usually try to skip town during Carnaval, but I guess, with so much going on surrounding our move combined with "pregnancy brain" we forgot. So we are stuck. It's going to be a grouchy weekend.
Thing is, this fair is billed as an event which celebrates Latino culture. Which it is. 'Cept I can never figure out just what cultural things it has to offer aside from a parade on one of the days featuring floats, samba dancers, and musicians. Which is really cool. Aside from that, it is no different from any other street fair.
Curly fries vendor? Check.
Stand selling cheap sunglasses? Check.
Hippies selling tie-dyed baby clothes? Check.
Incense vendor? Check
Mosaic candle maker? Check.
Really mediocre pottery and jewelry? Check.
Local radio station raffling off really ugly American sports car (red)? Check.
Ethopian, Thai, Filipino, and Italian food vendors? Check.
Water delivery service and phone company employees in corporate polo shirts trying to drum up business? Got 'em.
What's special about Carnaval? OK, I just thought of two things:
The Oaxacan Roasted Corn stand. What's better than roasted corn rolled in mayonnaise and crumbled Cotija cheese with lime juice squeezed over every bite? Nada. Que buen sabor!
Second thing: the stand that sells a type of mango, cucumber and melon fruit salad. You take your cup of fruit and then move off to the condiment table where you can dress your naked fruit with a squeeze of fresh lime, a generous dousing of Cholula hot sauce, and a sprinkle or two of pico de gallo seasoning. Ai! Ai! Ai!
Otherwise, I can look forward to being trapped in my house all weekend listening to the bump-bump of muffled bongo drums, and the minefield of rubbish that will be left behind until Monday.
