today we're going to tell you why Veracruz is the best state in Mexico and we're gonna do
that from the port of Veracruz during the most exciting time of the year Carnaval
wait is usually in February March yes usually ever since the global pandemic Veracruz has moved the
Carnaval to the middle of summer so this year we get to enjoy two carnavales our first Carnaval
experience was in Barranquilla Colombia and this year we get to do another bucket list event in the
carnavalo Veracruz Okay Kevin but tell me this other than being biased because your family's
from Miracles tell me why you think Veracruz is the best state in Mexico don't worry I'll be
answering that question all throughout this video and making sure to save the best reason for less
and since we're just getting our day started the best way to do that is with a fresh cup of coffee
let's head to a Grand Cafe De La paroche Vera Cruz we're going to church very funny you'll
see when you come Veracruz an unmissable drink is latte and when you want your milk you have
to do this yeah this is the fun part right here I don't know how they do that without spilling
another must try here is the bomba most people know this as the Concha but here in Veracruz
the best way to have them is with NATA which is an artisanal dairy cream and you can see it's
already filled in here it's delicious but the best time to come to a Grand Cafe de la paraque is in
the morning to midday usually in that time they have musical performances and dancing So today
we're lucky to walk in on them dancing La Bamba so dance that they were performing is actually really
special to us as you may or may not know Kevin has roots here in Veracruz and for our wedding
we decided to do that very same dance where the couple ties the knot using only their beets and
then successfully shows off through the audio so that's to me it's one of my favorite memories
for my wedding and it was just so nice to walk in and see that we're very good Veracruz style
breakfast we highly recommend Los barolitos and you have to try Las gorditas inflatas
and the black black beans delicious topped with cream and cheese and then another
personal favorite of ours are the picaritas Las picadas which look a lot like sopes to me from
being my family is from the central northern part of Mexico and we just kind of call the
esophage but in Veracruz they are different and they're called and they come in green salsa and
red salsa options every time we make it to Veracruz we make sure to not miss this spot
trust me this is unmissable so many good things have been established and come from Veracruz it
had the first Spanish city of Mexico it had the first church built in Mexico and it's the state
to have the first liberated town from slavery in all of the Americas do you know where the first
carnavale Mexico was established let me guess Veracruz no great guess though it's actually a
Mazatlan but Veracruz has arguably the largest and best Carnaval in all of Mexico this is the
macro Plaza from the macro Plaza you can see the port of Veracruz which is Mexico's oldest
largest and historically most significant Port when Hernan Cortes arrives in the year 1519 he
named the city via Rica de la Veracruz dedicated to the area's gold and in the name of the True
Cross because he arrived on a good Friday today and since then it's become the principal port for
most of Mexico's imports and exports all right we're gonna do something real quick all right
you're gonna grab this 10 peso coin and you're gonna toss it in the water why would I do that
it's money can you please just do it please [Music] I promise we're not being jerks this
is an iconic activity at the macro Plaza locals like to show off their diving skills by inviting
tourists to toss a 10 peso coin into the water which they fish back out and of course they keep
[Music]
moving
this is new for me this is an interesting one this is a statue dedicated to spanish immigrants
immigrants huh interesting sketchy and depending on what era we're talking about right if we're
talking about you know 15 1600s I wouldn't call them immigrants we're talking you know after
Mexico was established okay sure but uh what do you guys think about this one I mean these days
they're called expats while you're at the micro Plaza make sure to check out the Mercado you'll
find some really cool fun stuff here especially some naughty t-shirts around here you can get
all your souvenirs here including this La Bamba t-shirt that I got right here actually see someday
when we have kids my mom's definitely gonna like this one across the street you have La Plaza De
tesanias which is a great place to buy wayaveras check out this beautiful ayawada I'm getting this
one for my dad like we mentioned the guayaberas are culturally from Cuba originally from Cuba but
these shirts are so beautiful and fresh another thing that Veracruz has picked up a lot from
Cuba aside from the coffee is the cigarros the Cuban cigars here are quite popular here also
in Veracruz and now Veracruz has produced their own cigars so other histories nice to know but
it's making me hungry food in Veracruz is the last thing you got to worry about go please there are
countless seafood restaurants along the malecon and Playa Villa Del Mar love me a good seafood
cocktail this is because it will literally bring you back to life this Seafood cocktail
has shrimp octopus and fresh bread the cocktail juice is made up of the seafood's very own broth
and a concoction of like ketchup tomato juice and sometimes even like an orange soda I'm not a huge
huge fan of this part but I do love the seafood part so I actually asked for them to bring it
for me separately and I added just a little bit on the side so you can do that too if you're not big
on ketchup wow this looks so good Veracruz does fish really really well you're about to indulge
in this delicious mojara Frita with a nice creamy kind of pesto sauce called enchilada I think the
best part about this experience is having the beach right in front so you get that Ocean Breeze
oh we don't have room for dessert right now but later we're gonna have a popular
dessert here in Veracruz and the Caribbean that's originally from Southeast Asia and
brought to Mexico from Africa anybody know what it is comment down below
Veracruz sits on the Gulf of Mexico and while the mainland beaches aren't as pretty as the Caribbean
beaches there is an island just 20 minutes off the coast that makes for a quick Excursion we're
heading to cancuncito an island named for its beautiful clear waters like Cancun's so what we
kind of thought we were going to an island with a beach turns out it's an island in formation or
some sort of sand formation that's under the water and so we're here we're just gonna jump right in
Cancun is a sand Bank in the middle of the sea it was formed in 1988 thanks to Hurricane hilberto
it cost 300 pesos per person for this tour and you get to swim and relax in cancuncito for 90
minutes we recommend going early in the morning to enjoy the calm and clear waters is one of the
hottest places in all of Mexico in order to cool off you could do a couple of things you
could either take a bunch of showers or or you can have some ice cream from Widow the Widow ice cream
shops are iconic here in el puerto and they're very peculiar for shouting out at you [Laughter]
and I think the intention my understanding is that they're supposed to try to make you feel
good looking which I don't know it sounds kind of problematic to me I don't really care to be
with a WETA and for anyone who doesn't know is to to imply white or light complected skin
and because that's considered attractive by shouting whatever at you they're trying
to compliment you and get you to come by their ice cream so while it's been a thing
around here for years I wonder if people think about how kind of messed up that is
so they're shouting at us and I'm just like I'm not WETA I mean I
know I'm light lighter skin but I don't I don't know celebrity is
[Applause]
and last but not least before we leave at a cruise you have to try Evolution well they
have lots of flavors they have pineapple ham and cheese chorizo the crab is the
iconic feeling around here is basically our stuffed pastry but it's not dessert
yeah see if there's really crab in here oh yeah there is
amazing
[Music]
this year was held from June 29th to July 5th with parades and concerts all over the city
Veracruz is known for having one of the biggest carnival celebrations in Mexico
and people show up to the parade ready to show off their love and pride for Veracruz
Veracruz locals are called harochos and harochos
are known to be Lively and passionate people and colorful in their language
[Music]
they're proud of their Coastal culture and Life by the Sea as
you can tell most of the floats were sea themed or sailor themed
unlike most of Mexico salsa music and dancing are very important to harochos [Music]
it's worth noting that veracruz's culture wouldn't be what it is today without the
influences from Africa like this whale named Bamba a word of African origin meaning party
or celebration we mentioned earlier that there is a very special treat coming in Veracruz that
came to Mexico from Africa but is originally from Southeast Asia and that is the sweet plantainitas
Maduros are topped with cream and cheese here miraculous and they're an absolute favorite for
just about everybody around here and it's one of those foods that represents the culture of
Mexican so not only is it a really cool thing to try while you're here it's super delicious it's a
great thing to have after breakfast after lunch or really honestly any time of day Veracruz has
a blend of cultures mostly from the indigenous Spanish and afro-caribbean and you can see the
influence of these three mostly in its food and music and that my friends is what makes Veracruz
the best state in Mexico it's food it's music it's people it's history it its landscape and Seascape
I hope you have the pleasure of sweating in the port of Veracruz someday soon [Music] foreign