Naty's Parade

A colorful, surreal trip to a Mexican fiesta

Naty is so excited - this is the first year she gets to be one of the puppet people in the parade celebrating Guelaguetza, a July festival of folk dances in southern Mexico. At first the sights are overwhelming - the feather dancers, the pi-a (pineapple) girls, the fish-men who perform El Pescado, the dance of the fish. Then her father helps her into her mouse costume and sees her off to a safe start in the parade, but in the excitement of the hustle-bustle, Naty drops her clay whistle and becomes lost. Mustering all her courage, she finds her way back to the parade just before nightfall and is soon reunited with her father. This simple story, told in a distinctly childlike voice, is brought to life in Freschet's exuberantly colorful oil paintings, which feature sights strange and magical and which capture the essence of Mexico.