Happy Mother's Day!!

On our little block any day is a good day for a party. Mother's Day is a very good reason. :) Carmen our social coordinator, was around earlier last week to collect the needed signatures for the permits to close off the block and have a band in the street, and to collect table and chair rental orders. Around 8ish PM give or take and hour or so the band arrives and people start setting up their tables.

In the US Block, work, church, social get togethers that involve meals are generally pot lucks. Everyone brings something to share, it all goes on the communal table and each person helps themselves. Here the pot luck concept isn't practiced. Each family fixes their entire meal, it's brought out to their table and served to their invited guests and family.

Don't get the wrong idea it's not that anyone of our neighbors wouldn't share their last tortilla with you. It has more to do with being able to take care of, feed and love your family. Each women knows what is best for her family, no one can cook as well as she can, no one knows just exactly how you like your meat spiced, etc etc... In this culture a women's value to her family, community, and herself centers around her ability to care for and feed her family. If the concept of a pot luck was presented to my neighbor ladies the first thing out of their mouths would be " what you don't think my cooking is good enough, you have to eat Senora..... chicken and rice?? Does she know how to peel the skin off or salt it just the way you like it?? NO, you will eat right here, I will cook for you."

Each family's table is set up next to their neighbors but each family brings their dinner from their kitchens and sits down together to eat. Now when you start visiting from table to table rest assured that every table you stop at will insist that you have something to eat :) It's that old unwritten competition thing again. To refuse is to insult, to eat to much or enjoy someone else's food is a guaranteed insult to the women of your family. Feeuuu!! who knew life could be so complicated!! :)

The street being set up just before the music arrived.

Boys are boys the world over!!

This is our little table. Because it was 10pm when most people sat down to dinner LW and I ate much earlier in the evening. We had planned to have desert and champagne when everyone else had their dinner. Hmmm that looks like tuna salad and beans not desert to me. Yep remember that who thing about being offered food??? :)

I've decided that it just must be unmanly for men to dance in public once they reach a certain age. But it's not unwomanly!!!!!

That is until you have loosened your joints up with a goodly amount of cervesa. Then to heck with this unmanly business :)

Once again that special little block on Bernardo Vasquez had a wonderful fiesta and it was very quiet on our block until sometime late in the morning :)

Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are ;)