September 9 2012 – Quinceanera
Of all the things I could write about … I have to share
briefly about this tradition … it is very different depending upon your
economic means.
I went to a very humble ‘sweet 15’ party for Blanca’s niece
a couple of years ago. It was a simple
affair held outside in the ‘patio’ area of a neighbor’s house. Dirt floor … tree trunk posts holding up a
large blue tarp for shade … plastic chairs placed around borrowed tables
covered with simple cloths. And a cake. A single layer cake that was purchased from
the local ice-cream store. There were
some streamers and a few balloons as decorations and a small ‘band’ from Las
Delicias came to play – mostly religious songs. The birthday girl was in a borrowed dress and was
quite beautiful.
Gabriela y Marielas with gramma to the left and Fr. Santos
Special balloons
A lovely cake!
The first dance with grampa!
The cake topper is a special memento
The Las Delicias band
It was a lovely event.
Full of warmth and love and family and friends and neighbors –
Tonight – I got to see a different ‘sweet 15’ party. I can’t even imagine how much money was spent
on this party. The girl’s dress alone probably cost more
than the other party all together … it was quite beautiful though. This event reminded me a bit of what I imagine
a ‘coming of age’ party would look like in the deep south.
It was held at the girl’s school up the street. And when we arrived it was already standing
room only! There were tables and chairs
set up for (my guess) 300 people. And it
looked like they were all full. But we
were escorted by the dad himself to the table up on the stage in the main area
of the school courtyard. We were at the
table near the cake and champagne glasses and the chocolate fountain. We
were also seated at the same table as the Department of Usulután’s ‘Diputado’ –
(Representative). Well then. Didn’t we feel conspicuous? Yes we did.
Fortunately there were people there we knew and enjoyed
talking to. Blanca talked ‘business’
with someone from one of our cantons most of the time we were there. Cecilia and I joked and felt uncomfortable
with a woman from another canton.
The young lady was escorted in by at least 20 young men all
in black with bright/light blue ties.
They did a dance routine while she and her father watched. There was a for real emcee who introduced
each activity. She was presented a pair
of shoes for the event. Her mother ceremoniously
placed them on her feet. She gave some
words of gratitude. Her father gave a
little speech in her honor. There was
another group dance and a receiving line for hugs for the dancers and her
father. The first real dance was with
her father. The next dance was for all
the young (and not so young) men – people close to the family. Then
came the champagne toast (for family and god-parents, etc. Then came the dinner. Everyone was served – catered by the
restaurant Cartagena from Alegría. The
rice, potato salad and chimol were good … but the beef was tough. Even by Blanca and Cecilia’s standards! They joked afterwards that they wanted to eat
like polite society but when they looked over and saw the Deputy himself trying
to rip apart the meat with his fingers, they felt relieved.
view from the back. It really was quite pretty!
The gentlemen escorting her in ... quite a bit of pomp
The cake
SOME of the crowd in the main section
The presentation of the birthday girl
The Usulutan Diputado
A dance number
We stayed a bit longer to be polite but we were all antsy to
leave. When a couple of other folks took
their leave, we decided we could, too.
We said our good-byes and thank you/congratulations and walked back to
the Pastoral House.
I’m glad we went … but I would much prefer the more humble
celebrations.
