Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Tell me Thursday - Quinceañera

CanadaIf you visited my blog yesterday, then you probably saw a picture of my kids looking really neat. Carolina and Florencia were wearing nice dresses, Juan looked fantastic in a blue blazer and Santi was even wearing a bow tie! ("Dad, I look like a parking attendant", he realized later that evening).
 
The occasion was a 'quinceañera' party (the Latin American version of the "Sweet Sixteen", but for the 15th birthday). The daughter of some friends of us (from Colombia) was turning 15, and we were all invited to the party. Even more, Gaby was asked to do the catering, so she baked a really good looking cake!
 
IMG_2305
Yes, she's that good...
 
On top of the cake, Gaby prepared other things like brownies, lemon mini cakes (they were great!), Ricotta cheese pie, apple cake, assorted fruits, flans and many other desserts. The main course consisted of beef and chicken burritos, with all the additional ingredients you can think of, and they were great really good! Finally, there were many different salads, ice cream and two chocolate fountains for later in the evening. Yup, lots of food!
 
05-04-08_1916Since Gaby was so busy preparing all the food (I helped her a little), I had to take care of the rest, which include finding clothes for the kids, getting them ready, and even combing and putting makeup on my daughters (oh, yes, it was a VERY special occasion). I took the kids to a thrifty store called "Value Village" and that's where we found the jacket for Juan, the vest for Santi, pants for both and shoes for Carolina. Florencia was the only one who had everything she needed. No, I'm lying, I had to go and buy white panty hoses for her!
 
The party began with the girl's mother and sister walking in, the sister holding a pair of 'lady' shoes on a little pillow. They were followed by the birthday girl and her father, who then stood in front of all the guests. The father then proceeded to change her daughters shoes, this symbolizing her transition from a girl to a young woman. It was a touching moment, that had Julio Iglesias singing "De niña a mujer" ("from a girl to a woman") in the background.
 
They then proceeded to waltz together; a few minutes later, all the adults -and a few peers- took turns to dance with the young woman. Juan was brave enough to do something that most teens (or Santi) wouldn't dare to: he got up and went to dance with her, to everybody's applause.
 
There were 100 people invited, so by the time food needed to be served, I was already helping Gaby out in the kitchen. I barely had time to go and look at what my kids were doing; still, they had a great time. Carolina, Juan and Florencia danced almost the entire night with the bigger kids (Juan even slow danced with a 16 year old girl!). Juan was really having a great time, and all the teens were around him praising his moves. Very nice of them. Santi, in the meantime, was with three more kids of his age, and did what most 13 year olds do: they stand in the vicinity of where everybody is dancing and pretend to be cool, only to run away in fear if anybody comes to ask them to dance... :-)
 
05-04-08_1918 The funniest moment of the evening was when the DJ announced that there was somebody among the guests who was a very good singer. As he was going to announce the name of the girl's friend, Juan walked in and pretty much grabbed the microphone like saying "I don't know how you guys found out, but OK, I will sing" in a scene that looked like stolen from the movie "Top Secret"... Shy as he is, he then proceeded to sing in front of about 100 strangers as if he were in our living room; then the real 'music star' finally got to sing.
 
The DJ then took the microphone and started to walk away, when he was surprised to hear somebody crying. It was Florencia, and she wanted to sing too! So he had to go back and give the mike to Flor, who then sang a touching version of "Twinkle, twinkle, little star".
 
The party ended at 11:30 PM, and we were done cleaning up by around 2:00 AM. None of the six could walk: the kids because their legs hurt due to all the dancing, and me and Gaby because we pretty much stood from 6:00 PM till 2:00 AM. I was in so much pain that I couldn't get up to go to church on Sunday morning.
 
Gaby did, and she went to see a friend, who told us about something we didn't see: at one moment, Juan was being paraded on top of some guy's shoulders, while all the kids were bowing to him. Heart of the party, indeed!
 
Ah, my kids are so shy...
 
 
Argentina
Si visitaron my blog ayer, tal vez hayan visto una foto de mis chicos luciendo muy bien. Carolina y Florencia tenían unos vestidos muy lindos, Juan lucía fantásticamente con su saco azul y Santi hasta se había puesto un moño! ("Pa, parezco uno de los que estacionan los autos", cayó en la cuenta más tarde).
 
La ocasión era una fiesta de 'quinceañera' (versión latina de los "Dulces Dieciseis" de los norteamericanos). La hija de unos amigos nuestros (de Colombia) cumplía los 15, y todos fuimos invitados a la fiesta. A Gaby incluso le encargaron que se ocupara del catering, así que preparó una torta que lucía muy bien!
 
IMG_2307
Si, es realmente un fenómeno en la cocina...
 
Además de la torta, Gaby preparó otras cosas como brownies, torta de limón (que estaba buenísima!), torta de ricotta, torta de manzana, frutas, flanes y otros postres. El platillo principal consistió de burritos de carne vacuna y pollo, con todos los ingredientes adicionales que se te puedan ocurrir, y estaban todos muy buenos! Finalmente, había varios tipos de ensaladas, helado y dos fuentes de chocolate que fueron usadas más tarde. Si, montones de comida!
 
05-04-08_1922 Como Gaby estaba tan ocupada preparando la comida (yo ayudé un poco), tuve que ocuparme del resto, lo que incluyó conseguir la ropa para los chicos, prepararlos y hasta peinar y maquillar a las chicas (oh, sí, porque era una ocasión MUY especial). Llevé a los chicos a un negocio de ropa de segunda mano llamado "Value Village", donde encontramos el saco para Juan, el chaleco de Santi, pantalones para los dos, y zapatos para Carolina. Florencia era la única que tenía todo lo que precisaba. No, miento, tuve que ir a comprarle medibachas color blanco!
 
La fiesta comenzó con la madre y la hermana de la homenajeada entrando al salón, la hermana llevando un par de zapatos 'de mujer' en un almohadoncito. Ellas fueron seguidas por la cumpleañera y su padre, que luego se pararon en frente de toda la concurrencia. El padre entonces procedió a cambiar los zapatos de su hija, simbolizando así la transició de niña a adulto. Fue un momento muy emotivo, que tenía como música de fondo a Julio Iglesias cantando "De niña a mujer".
 
Luego fue el momento para que padre hija bailen el vals; unos minutos más tarde, los adultos -y algunos pares- tomaron turnos bailando con la jovencita. Juan fue lo suficientemente valiente para hacer algo que la mayoría de los teens (o Santi) ni se animaron a hacer: se levantó y fue a bailar con ella, con toda la sala aplaudiendo.
 
05-04-08_1920
No, ése no es Juan... :-)
 
Había 100 personas invitadas, así que para cuando había que servir la comida, yo ya estaba ayudando a Gaby en la cocina. Apenas si tuve tiempo para salir y ver qué hacían los chicos, pero sé que la pasaron super bien. Carolina, Juan y Florencia bailaron casi toda la noche con los chicos más grandes (Juan hasta bailó lento con una chica de 16 años!). La verdad es que Juanito la pasó bárbaro, y todos los invitados se ocuparon de elogiar la forma en que bailaba, lo que fue muy lindo de ellos. Santi, mientras tanto, estaba con otros tres chicos de su edad, haciendo lo que la mayoría de los que tienen 13 años hacen: se paraban alrededor de la pista y pretendían ser 'cool', pero salían corriendo presas del pánico, si alguna chica osaba acercarse para invitarlos a bailar... :-)
 
05-04-08_1923El momento más divertido de la noche fue cuando el DJ anunció que había un invitado que era un muy buen cantante. Cuando estaba por anunciar el nombre del amigo de la agasajada, Juan pasó caminando y prácticamente 'manoteó' el micrófono, como diciendo "No sé cómo se enteraron de que yo estaba aquí, pero bueno, lo haré", en una escena que parecía robada de la película "Super Secreto"... Tan tímido que es mi hijo, cantó delante de unos 100 extraños como si estuviese en el living room de su casa; una vez que él terminó, entonces la verdadera 'estrella del canto' pudo cantar.
 
El DJ entonces tomó el micrófono y comenzó a alejarse, cuando fue sorprendido por un llanto. Era Florencia, y ella también quería cantar! Tuvo que volver y darle el micrófono a Florencia, que esbozó una tocante versión de "Estrellita dónde estás".
 
La fiesta termino a las 11:30 PM, y terminamos de limpiar cerca de las 2:00 AM. Ninguno de los seis podía caminar más: los chicos porque sus piernas les dolían de tanto bailar, y Gaby y yo porque habíamos estado parados entre las 6:00 PM y las 2:00 AM. Yo estaba tan dolorido que no me pude levantar a la mañana siguiente para ir a misa.
 
Gaby sí se pudo levantar, y fue a ver a una amigal, que nos contó de algo que no habíamos visto: en un momento, Juan estaba sentado en hombros de otro chico, mientras todos alrededor lo reverenciaban. Definitivamente , el alma de la fiesta!
 
Ah, mis chicos son tan tímidos...
 
Technorati Tags: ,

21 comments:

  1. What a wonderful tradition! I really enjoyed reading this and learning something new about your culture. Thank you for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderful tradition! I really enjoyed reading this and learning something new about your culture. Thank you for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful tradition! I really enjoyed reading this and learning something new about your culture. Thank you for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a wonderful tradition! I really enjoyed reading this and learning something new about your culture. Thank you for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a wonderful tradition! I really enjoyed reading this and learning something new about your culture. Thank you for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a wonderful tradition! I really enjoyed reading this and learning something new about your culture. Thank you for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a wonderful tradition! I really enjoyed reading this and learning something new about your culture. Thank you for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a wonderful tradition! I really enjoyed reading this and learning something new about your culture. Thank you for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a wonderful tradition! I really enjoyed reading this and learning something new about your culture. Thank you for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Awesome! I wish I could have seen the look on the Djs face! :-)

    Mine is up here: http://stickyapplekisses.com/?p=131

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ahhhh...what a great tradition and it sounds like everyone had a wonderful time! Thanks for participating in Tell Me Thursday! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a wonderful story and that cake looked amazing. What a talent.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I enjoyed reading your story and looking at the photos - the cake looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Jessica has been invited to one of these parties in a month or two. She is so excited. It sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate a young ladies 15 th birthday.
    Do they have something like this for the boys?
    The food looks fabu. Of course, I have had the honour of eating some of Gaby's treats. The girls still talk about the cookies.
    Everyone looks wonderful, by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  15. cricket's hearth. quietmom, lisa, momsoapbox, thank you for your comments. And Gaby will like the references about her cake.
    sherrie, I'll go check your post in a few minutes.
    Biddie, there was a time when we had a similar event for boys turning 18 years old, but it has been abandoned long ago. I would be very surprised if I found out of anybody who has had his lately...

    It seems that the only chance for young boys in Argentina to have a special celebration are either confirmations (if they're Christian) or bar mitzvahs (if they're Jewish) :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Este Juan es de terror... que caradura!
    Bien por el...
    Florcita no le va a la zaga...
    Aunque lo siento por los chicos, pero la estrella fue...la torta!
    Felicitaciones a Gaby.

    ReplyDelete
  17. El pastel de la primera foto se ve delicioso mmmmm!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Qué linda torta!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. No habia visto una fiesta de quincea&era en muchos a&os y es la primera que escucho en Canada.

    Se ve que la pasaron super!

    Dejaste a tus hijos muy bien arreglados y elegantes, muy acordes con la importancia del evento,

    saludos
    Arturo

    ReplyDelete
  20. Me tendrías que haber visto maquillando a mis hijas, Arturo! :-)

    Pero quedaron todos muy lindos.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nice blog, Excellent. I Really enjoyed a Lot, I also have Quinceanera Party Favor website, May it will be informative for you. For more information log on to the below link:

    Quinceanera Party Favors

    Keep up the great work!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a message after the beep

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Buy at KW Empanadas!

Share |