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There are local stories and documents describing masquerades and feasts from the time of the earliest settlers in the first third of the 19th century.

Some historians suggest that these tumultuous affairs, originally of indigenous extraction with hints of Spanish influence, took place upon the arrival of the first seagoing vessel to anchor in Mazatlan -- in the year 1823 -- after the Spanish parliament authorized the opening of its port to international commerce.

From that time, each year the Carnaval hymn known as “The Papaquis” (some historians say this is ferived from the Aztec word Papaqui: to feel happy at somebody else’s misfortune, or Papaquiliztli: jubilation or joy caused by somebody else’s misfortune).