Everybody out there is thinking of Brazil for carnival, but, why not think down in Mexico? The party is just as wild as everywhere else. Remember, it starts days after Christian Ash Wednesday.

Here's my top 5 carnivals in the country:

#5. San Juan Chamula, Chiapas. This is an indigenous celebration where locals play with fire, dress up in costumes, and dance like there's no tomorrow. For tourists this Indigenous celebration will be a surprise.

#4. Carnaval de Ensenada. This is a great parade in Baja California. You can check out some details at http://www.carnavalensenada.org 

These first two carnivals are the typical ones, they blend tradition, culture, and celebration. The next three are wild, and everybody goes crazy.

#3 Campeche. This is one of the wild carnivals. There's games, lots of sun, a great crowd, and overall a party feeling in the air. People name a "Queen of the Parade" (Reina del carnaval), that tours around the city, as the parade's center of attention. I've been there and it's pretty nice, and the food is excellent.

#2 Carnaval de Veracruz. To me, this is the craziest carnival celebration in the country. Basically, what's different is that veracruzanos (the locals) love party as no one else, and for three days this place is full of liquor, women, foreigners, they get creative with the parade cars. They also have a rancher's fair going on at the same time. It's worth the visit.

#1 Mazatlán's carnival. As you can see on the picture Mazatlán, Sinaloa is spectacular. It's a small beach town where you can have a lot of fun with beautiful warm people. They're seafood is amazing, they have fireworks for the main carnival day, and the "música sinaloense" fills the air with a great feeling.