Let's keep in mind that we were working on Mexican time and not anal-retentive American time. 6am... really? Tello relented and said he would let us sleep until 8am. It was 8:30 before he arrived. We headed back to his house to finally meet his family. I felt like Santa Claus as I sat in the center of the room with a suitcase full of stuff, handing it out to the kids. They squealed with delight "For me?!?" as I handed them each item. Tello's sister-in-law, Mari and her children Gerardo and Ailin were there... his brother-in-law, Vicente, and sister-in-law, Jeny and their children Cassandra and Kendra as well as Margarita, Katy, Zeedxi, Margaret and baby Alex. I am glad that I had packed things for them as well. After the presents, we loaded up in the cars and headed for Coatzalcoalcos, Vera Cruz, a 5 hour drive from Juchitan. 16 of us in a mini pick-up, a VW bug and a Ford Fiesta, no A/C, no car-seat, nuttin'! Scott, Cecilia and I were the lucky ones as we had the truck to ourselves. I pulled my seat up as far as it would go and let Cecilia play behind my seat, which we alternated with her sitting on my lap, hanging out the window or stradling the gear shift. 5 hours is a looong drive with a 2 year old. Eventually she sat on the floor between my legs and watched the DVD played which I rigged up on the door of the glove compartment. When she would come up for air, she would be drenched in sweat.
When we arrived in Coatzalcoalcos, it was announced that the wedding was at 8:30pm. What happened to the 12:30 pm and then 4:30 pm we were previously told? Tello is not one for details. God love him... he was a nervous wreck our entire trip. We were a little disappointed because Cecilia goes to bed at 8 and we spent the day in a truck sweatin' our butts off. On top of this, we weren't even officially invited to this wedding and weren't clear as to who was getting married. Tello picked us up at 8:15 (giving us 15 Mexican minutes to get there) and off we went. Naturally since we had no connection to the wedding, we sat right up front at one of the head tables. ??? In the end, we were glad to have experienced it.
The wedding
The couple had a quick ceremony at the reception hall. They will have a church wedding at a later date and another reception. Apparently this is common. Beer first, then food (spaghetti in a pesta type sauce and beef bbq with salsa verde (hot) on the side. Next came the wedding traditions: 1. Bride is blindfolded and selects the next bride solely by feel. 2. Groom is blindfolded while his friends dance with him making him drink an entire beer/friend. They then swing him around and toss him in the air. 3. Bride and groom sit with a basket. Ceramic pots are placed around them in a circle. People come up and buy the pots and dance around them holding the pots above their head until all pots are sold. Then the pots are smashed on the floor. The # of pots indicates the number of children they will have. Finally there is dancing... dancing... dancing. The most popular song at the wedding was "Camarron Caramelo" which literally translates in "caramel shrimp, " however I believe the more correct translation to be "candy shrimp" Either way, it is confusing. Scott deemed himself the best white dancer there. Actually, he was the only white person there... dancer or not.
Cecilia and Cassandra (in traditional dress) and Katy
Cassandra and Ailin's hair
Jeny, Vicente, Cassandra and Kendra
The beautiful bride... whoever she was
Camaron Caramelo will play in your head foreeeeeeeeeever!
1 comment:
Ok I am so sorry. After I pressured you, I have been working and did not have a chance to read the updates....but now that I have I need CINCO!!!(if you run out, you may have to go back for more updates) A couple of questions,
even though the bride did not know you, did she feel you up to see if you would be the next bride? After reading about the truck ride and the boat ride, is your position still that Mexico is not dangerous???
Just asking........
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