Cindy at Shrimp Cook-Off
This was a busy weekend on the island-–first Halloween, and then the 16th annual Shrimp Cook-off. Although Halloween is still observed here with costumes, trick or treating, parties, etc., it takes on a little different look in true Rio Grande Valley fashion. Here, many of the families celebrate Day of the Dead or All Souls Day, which is actually November 2, but the celebrations start on Halloween and run for several days.
Families, mainly those of Hispanic origin, honor those who have departed by spending time in cemeteries, standing before home-made alters with offerings of food that is believed to be eaten in spirit by the dead! No disrespect. But that’s just spooky. Along with the main food, Pan de Muerto, which is bread made into a loaf or shaped like a skull with strips of dough crisscrossed on the top to resemble bones, the offerings also include fruit, tamales, candies, traditional flowers (the marigold), mementos, photos, incense, and a candle for each dead person.
But the celebrations don’t stop at the “grave yards,” they extend into the homes, museums and even at the local university. In Port Isabel, the little village on the mainland next to where I live, the Chamber of Commerce showed a movie on the side of the Lighthouse to commemorate Los Colores del Muertos and conducted tours at the local cemetery!! Holy Mole! (and I mean the spicy Mexican chocolate sauce!!!)
The Shrimp Cook-off was a little more my style as you can see from the photo. In addition to shrimp, cooked more ways than one would think possible, the festival offered live music and numerous activities like face painting and clowns. All kinds of clowns—some who were supposed to be and some who were not!
Original artwork and other gifts were available for purchase, but I wouldn’t recommend buying your Christmas gifts there. And you know I love shopping! Of course, the main attraction to the several thousand visitors was shrimp, and for a $1.00 coupon per shrimp you could sample til you couldn’t hold anymore. And I did just that.
But shrimp wasn’t the only offering. There were funnel cakes, roasted corn on the cob, home-made potato chips, turkey legs and similar goodies that you usually only find and eat once a year at the state fair, but on a beautiful fall day, mingling outside with the music playing and seeing people you hadn’t seen in awhile, why not? Back to buy more coupons!
The winner of the “Shrimp Eating Contest,” peeled and ate 14 jumbo shrimp in three minutes—no sauce, no lemon, just shrimp. I would never be able to look at another shrimp, let alone eat it. Then there was the contest for the World Championship Shrimp that the local restaurants compete in.
I wonder how many World Championship shrimp winners there really are??? Every town near the water, in every place I’ve ever been, seems to have its very own World Championship Shrimp, but don’t tell the winner here that bit of news! The winning eatery is probably already printing new menus and headlining the award winning crustaceans. As for me, “Pass the chicken, please.”
Paragraphs on Padre 
I am still full from all of those shrimp! Cap N’ Roy’s was the best to me. The Diablo shrimp was wrapped in bacon, marinated, covered in some secret sauce, and grilled. Then you dip it in a chipotle sauce. OMG!! The best part was the weather. You can only eat one, maybe two. OK, three. It was the most perfect day ever. Judy took a few pics of Cindy with clowns but I still think she should have jumped on that blow up thing with all the other kids for Judy’s picture to put in this blog.
Shrimp eating contest, count Jan in. I bet he could give the winner a run for their money.
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