A Ceremonial Dance

Women regally dressed in embroidered, lace-trim dresses and men in their best guayabera shirts carry festooned trays on their heads during the Baile de las Cabezas de Cochino (dance of the pig's head) at the Fería del Cedral, held in El Cedral. The trays are festooned with trailing ribbons, papeles picados (paper cutouts), piles of bread, and, in some cases, the head of a barbecued pig.

The pig is a sacrificial offering to God, who supposedly saved the founders of this tiny Cozumel settlement. According to legend, the tradition began during the 19th-century War of the Castes, when Yucatán's Maya rose up against their oppressors. The enslaved Maya killed most of the mestizos in the mainland village of Sabán. Casimiro Cardenas, a wealthy young man, survived while clutching a small wooden cross. He promised he would establish an annual religious festival once he found a new home.

Today the original religious vigils and novenas blend into the more secular fair, which usually runs through the last weekend in April. Festivities include horse races, bullfights, and amusement-park rides, and stands selling hot dogs, corn on the cob, and cold beer. Celebrations peak during the ritualistic dance, which is usually held on the final day.

The music begins with a solemn cadence as families enter the stage, surrounding one member bearing a multi-tiered tray. The procession proceeds in a solemn circle as the participants proudly display their costumes and offerings. Gradually, the beat quickens and the dancing begins. Grabbing the ends of ribbons trailing from the trays, children, parents, and grandparents twirl in ever-faster circles until the scene becomes a whirling blend of grinning, sweaty faces and bright colors.