Día de los Abuelitos

Just before the Halloween weekend, we celebrated Día de los Abuelitos at a few of the refuerzo centers I work at. Below are pictures, but first let me outline the key ingredients to an Ecuadorian party so you can identify them appropriately when you see the photos:

1) Chairs lined up against every wall. Everyone sits on the chairs, and the open space in the middle is for things like…
2) Dancing. Everyone dances; even if you can’t walk yet, you dance.
3) Some kind of spoken performance – recitations, speeches, songs, you name it.
4) There is also food, in abundance.
5) Music, played at maximum volume.

Those are the basics. Sometimes there’s things like raffles and competitions, too. At a charity bingo event my family hosted a few weeks ago, there were clowns, a dance troupe, a raffle, singers, dancing competitions, catered food, and beer (the event took place on a Sunday, outside a church and next to a police station). It lasted for seven hours. People take their bingo here seriously. In retrospect, I think my friend Molly is right, bingo is the Ecuadorian equivalent of a block party, only with prizes at the end.

Anyway, below are some pics of our Día de los Abuelitos celebrations.



[Above: Maritza's house, where CAE1 is held. "CAE" = Centro de Apoyo Escolar, School/Studies Support Center]

[Below: Parents, grandparents, and kids came to celebrate]





[Above: Enriqueta can’t wait to eat empanadas, cake, and jello with flan]

[Below: Evelyn, our model, shows off some of the food]





[Above: Joshua: Do I really have to smile for this picture?
Pierina: Hey look, flan.
Mayerli: I never noticed before, but he’s kinda cute.
Darlyn: Just what do you think you’re looking at?
Kevin: I’m completely huggable!
Mayerline: Is it time for dessert yet?]

[Below: If only boys in the states learned to dance at such a young age…]





[Above: Alejandro gives his abuelita a card and a hug, after much prompting]

[Below: The kids of CAE1 with Enriqueta, Maritza, and Evelyn]



The next day saw another Grandparent’s Day celebration at a different center.



The program included a performance – written, directed, and produced by yours truly – of Pinocho. You know, the one about the puppet-boy whose nose grows when he tells a lie. That one.

[Below: Trying on Pinocho’s nose]





[Above: The theater troupe before their grand debut]

[Below: If you’ll recall, at one point Pinocho grows donkey ears]





[Above: I think he’s really excited to perform]

[Below: With my trusty Narrator]





[Above: Jiminy Cricket!]

For those of you who have facebook, I'll be putting together albums with additonal pics soon. Chao!