| The Quinceanera |
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| Trip to Mexico City (coming soon) |
| Trip to Acapulco |
| During the first weekend that we were down in Mexico, a member of the extended family, Xochitl, had a quinceanera. A quinceanera is a formal event similar in many aspects to a wedding, celebrating the fifteenth birthday. Many, many relatives and friends are invited. First there was a church service, followed by a large party including: a ceremonial toast, a band, and plenty of food and drink. Xochitl had been planning her quinceanera for nearly a year!! You may notice that I had a part in the dance. Earlier in the week, when a conflict arose for one of the dancers (chambelanes), I was fortunate enough to be selected as the replacement. It turned out to be a bigger role than I had first thought. We all dressed up, and got to sit at the same table as Xochitl! |
| The Toast |
| Here we, the chamebelanes, (there were a total of six, one didn't make it into this picture), are seated at the table with Xochitl. We are preparing for dinner, which was served with the event. One thing that I will always remember about my stay in Cuernavaca is the amazing hospitality of all the people- not just my family. Almost everyone I met had time to help me if I needed directions to somewhere or had a question. Here is a perfect example. The other chambelanes could have treated me as an over privilged tourist, who was in the dance simply because one of the families was getting paid for me being down there. Instead, they treated me as a friend; never during my whole trip did I feel like the people I was around were being artificially good natured. Their willingness to share there time and to listen, whether or not they understood, was genuine, a quality that is sometimes hard to come across. |
| The Dance and Toast |
| After the event, on our trip home, they had me carry the remainders of the huge cake. Bad idea! Here I am sharing some of the left-overs with Arturo, Xochitl's dad. |
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