El Año Nuevo

New Year's Eve in Tlaxcala, the capital of Mexico's smallest state, was a long way from the excitement of Times Square.  The town center was quiet all day, though the evening was marked by church bells and hourly masses that drew small crowds.  But any place where professional-grade fireworks are sold on the side of the highway is bound to be a little lively on holidays, and throughout the evening their crackles echoed across the city and reverberated off the hillsides.  At midnight, bells rang and rockets whizzed and snapped in the dark sky; the smell of gunpowder and clouds of smoke drifted through the chilly air.