Volkswagen Fiesta: Revenbug 2013—Manzanillo, Mexico

My Uncle Tom lives in Mexico from January through April of each year. Normally, he's in the beautiful city of San Miguel de Allende for much of his time. However, this year, he decided to beeline it to sunny Manzanillo, which is on Mexico's Pacific coast. Manzanillo is home to about 161,000 people and is known for its beaches and fishing. As my uncle found out, it is also home to a VW car show called Revenbug.

In his words:

On Saturday, here in Manzanillo, they closed two lanes of the four lane coastal highway for a bicycle race. On Sunday, they closed two lanes for a Volkswagen fiesta. We saw it on our way to church, and, as it was going full force when we returned, we stopped to have a look and "hearing."  Some of the Volkswagens were nicely restored. Some were customized in various ways. Many were lowered and several had sound systems that I'm surprised you couldn't hear back in Portland—"Future Deaf People of Mexico." There were also several tiendas of Volkswagen stuff laid out for sale.

At any rate, it was LOUD, joyful, and fun. There was a lot of pride being shown in their handiwork. You would have loved it. You need to see what's going on down here while I'm in residence. Talk your company into sending you; see your doctor for some Cipro; and come down! Two years ago, [I saw] the WRC in Guanajuato, and this year, the much more local Volkswagen event in Manzanillo. Always something in Mexico!

VW is a hugely popular brand in Mexico. The aircooled Beetle was available until only a few years ago, so it's no wonder why they are so popular with Mexican customizers. It's not just air cooled VWs, though; there were a bunch of watercooled cars, too. Here are a few pics from the event. Thanks for the trip, Tom!