Although the parade is a tradition that goes back to the 18th century, change is inevitable. Local businesses—usually behind-the-scenes sponsors—now include promotional items in the giveaways. Los Locos isn’t just huge numbers of people dancing in the streets to repay a favor conceded by Saint Anthony, but people dancing and promoting their businesses—mixing tradition with commerce.

“San Antonio is our saint patron. We are devoted to him,” said Juan Antonio Vázquez. “We dance to thank him for our work and good health in the past year and to request the same for this year.” Vázquez, a young entrepreneur, is spearheading a group of 70 local businesses who, under the name of Commercial Alliance, plan to revitalize this year’s parade.

“Sunday will be our presentation to the community. Our objective is to both preserve the tradition and also inform people of our products.” And with a captive audience of more than 7,000 locals, it’s easy to mix business with pleasure. But will the original craziness prevail over marketing madness? Only Sunday will tell.

The old and the new
Every year, nearly 3,000 people dance while while the rest of San Miguel observe and enjoy their craziness. The oldest dance groups, or cuadros (similar to Mardi Gras krewes) are the Parque (Juaréz Park), Viejo (Old), Tecolote (Owl) and Nuevo (New). These cuadros are from the most popular neighborhoods of San Miguel, such as San Antonio, Aurora, Guadalupe, Allende and Tecolote. 

“Organization is difficult,” said Maurilio Cuellar, from San Antonio. “The Locos parade board organizes the event every year. They contact the parish priest to schedule the mass and then organize food, music and fireworks. It takes at least six months for the dancers to prepare costumes that could cost around 1,000 pesos each—excluding 400 pesos for the candies we give out.”

The tradition’s origins date back to when orchard owners and their workers (hortelanos) held agricultural celebrations on May 15 in honor of Saint Isidro. Later, they honored Saint Pascual Bailón on May 17, and held the traditional Corpus Christi celebrations in June. They finished by honoring Saint Anthony on June 13. 

Since then, the parade has undergone some modifications—changes in costumes and the inclusion of candies and promotional products, instead of the original gifts of pears and other fruit. 
In latter parades, the emerging modernity sparked controversy with traditionalists who objected to a strong commercial presence. Now dancers are accompanied by national and international radio hits. Huge speakers, sponsored by radio stations, often drown out the traditional Mexican tambora.

Renew or die 
On Sunday 133 people will distribute—in addition, to the contents of 700 bags of candy—discount coupons from Commerical Alliance businesses. This commercial group joined oldest of the cuadros, the Parque group.
“My brother, Alejandro Gómez, and I will be representing our family companies: Taco Charro, the Design Center IMACO and Pro-In Real Estate,” commented Vázquez. He and the Commercial Alliance participants can be identified by their costume—a caricature of a typical Mexican with a moustache, a paliacate (scarf),and hat. “We’re against latex masks and grotesque monsters and such. Each of our hats will be different, because we have a contest for the most original one—the winner receives special mention.”

Nevertheless, some sanmiguelenses disagree with the renovation of one of the most important traditions of the city. Don Cruz Patlán, one of the “old guard” of the Locos procession, considers himself one of the few who know the parade origins. He states emphatically that he will go to the tomb with the secret in order to prevent others from using that information to change the custom.
Patlán is the Parque group organizer and the most important member of the Los Locos parade board. “We don’t want the traditional elements to disappear and have the parade become full of monsters, strident music and profiteers.”

In the beginning 
Despite Patlán’s declaration, the origins of this tradition are not unknown to others. Félix Luna, expert in San Miguel customs and traditions, and Luis Felipe Nieto, archaeologist and historian, agree that although the Locos celebration has a religious and evangelical base, butt also is rooted in commercialism.

According to Luna, the dance groups were created by the people who tended the orchards (hortelanos) to thank San Pascual Bailón for the year’s harvest. When organizing the dances and the religious celebrations, people took advantage of the opportunity to promote their products. “People attended the celebration, but they also attended because they wanted to sell,” corroborated Nieto.
The hortelanos wore scarecrow costumes and danced in circles. They would use animals, such as opossums and snakes, to scare the people and when these scarecrows drew near to the crowd, the public shouted with joy, “Here come the crazy people!” Their cry has endured for three centuries. 

By the 19th century, the hortelanos no longer dressed as scarecrows. Instead they began to wear imaginative harlequin costumes in bright, flashy colors and clown masks. Men carried bags filled with pears that they gave to the public in gratitude for the recent harvest. Yet none of the experts could explain when the highly favored transvestite dress became so popular.

Today, hortelanos no longer exist. The secret of their music and dances may have died with them. The parade, however, continues. Every year, residents from San Miguel’s working class neighborhoods go a little crazy and become locos —even if for just a little while.