another magic kingdom?

I may have stumbled onto one of Pátzcuaro’s little secrets.  A reason why the town seems to be such a happy place.


San Miguel de Allende is often, and not with a flattering tone, referred to as Disney in Mexico.  But it isn’t.  It is sui generis.  But Disneyland it ain’t.


I may have found Disneyland’s second cousin in Mexico, though.  Right here in Pátzcuaro.


It has been staring me in the face for four days, and I simply did not see it.  But all the clues were there in the grand plaza.


A landscaped public area as tidy as a Teutonic grandmother’s living room.

Characters dressed in costume.

Strolling families.

Laughing, happy children.

Vendors ready to meet any child's whim.







And, of course, amusement rides -- this one annoyingly plays “It’s a Small World."

Better yet, live rides.

Even though the clues were always there, I didn’t pull them together until I noticed today’s Rosetta Stone.


I heard music.  At first, I thought I was hearing the omnipresent teenager’s oversized car speakers.  But no self-respecting teenager plays Andrew Lloyd Webber and "Bésame Mucho".


The music was everywhere in the plaza.  And I soon discovered why.  The plaza is surrounded with ground level speakers playing the type of mood music Disney applied long ago.  (My house sitter would be scandalized to see that the speakers are Bose.)

If Disneyland is the symbol of Middle America, Pátzcuaro just may be what Middle Mexico is all about.